Total Drama: Pahkitew's Vengance
by Creaturemaster
Summary: Takes place after Pahkitew Island. Welcome to the 7th season of Total Drama! Watch as 14 application created, super powered teens compete in the latest and brutal-est season yet! There will be vomiting! There will be the wetting of pants! There will be epic battles among the meta humans! And there will be the grand prize and of course, Chris! Now with an Aftermath Show! APPS CLOSED
1. Build, Seek and Obliertate

**And here's the first official episode of Total Drama: Pahkitew's Vengeance! Watch as your Ocs lie, cheat, fight, love, and scream their way to the million dollar prize! And don't worry; if your OC didn't make it in, your character will enter the competition at a later point in the game! My Ocs will be entering the game, so if you want to see their applications, look at my Profile page! APPS are now closed. I am ****_so _****sorry this took so long to make! I will try to update it every two weeks. Updates will be slower and less frequent towards the end of August and the beginning of the school year, but I have no desire to end this series until it's complete!**

The camera turns on to see Chris McClain standing on an old dock. Behind him is the island of Pahkitew from the last season. "Yo, I'm Chris McClain!" the host says with his trademark smile. "But you probably already knew that! I mean seriously, I'm famous! But enough about me. Lets talk about my new show! And what better way to start than by introducing the new group of vic – I mean _contestants_ that will battle their way for the right to claim the grand prize: ONE! MILLION! DOLLARS! And here they are now!" the host announced as a motorboat driven by a lowly intern pulled up to the docs. Inside the boat next to an intern sat a 23 year old woman with a light tan and black hair with pink highlights. She wore a red dress with a large, black, Chinese Dragon on the front and black heels. A skull necklace with emeralds in the eye sockets was looped around her neck as she climbed onto the dock.

"Meet our first contestant, Kiko the Chinese Uber-Fan!" Chris said with mock enthusiasm. Kiko glanced around the island before setting her green eyes on Chris. "OMG! I can't believe I'm here you!" Kiko squealed excitedly. Without warning she jumped at Chris and pulled him into a hug, revealing the fact that she finally got to meet her idol. Meanwhile, struggling to breath. "C-can't . . . breath!" he managed to gasp before Kiko let him go. The host dropped to the docks as the girl danced around excitedly before running to the other end of the dock, unable to keep her eyes off of Chris as he stood up again and straightened his hair.

"Um, welcome our next contestant, Caroline the Exiled Animal Lover!" Chris said in slight disgust as another motorboat pulled up. In it sat another girl with long, dark brown hair that went all the way down to her waist. An oversized sweatshirt sat on her shoulders, and a white tank top underneath. She wore a knee length, navy blue skirt with pockets and teal stockings with boots. "Do I really have to be here in front of the cameras?" she asked nervously. Chris gave a dead panned look. "Yes, you do. You signed up for it when you signed the contract!" Caroline sighed and moved to the end of the dock to stand next to Kiko, trying to stay out of sight. "Maybe I should call her Lindsay 2.0" he grumbled as another motorboat pulled up to the dock.

This one was carrying a boy with raven black hair and tanned skin. Surfer dressed boy climbed onto the dock and walked up to Chris, fist bumping him before joining the girls. "Our third contestant, Alex the Laid back Korean!" Chris announced. For once, he didn't hate this teen so much as the others he had been forced to work with. That however, would not save Alex from the horror Chris had in store for the cast. At least, once they all showed up.

"Our next contestant is Trey the Rock Star!" Chris said as another motorboat carrying a guy with a dark brown beard and shoulder length hair. He wore a white, stained T-shirt with the sleeves torn off, and a pair of jeans with the knees ripped out. A bass guitar was strapped to his back and a knife was being twirled around in his fingers. "Sup, dude?" Trey greeted Chris with a thumbs up. "This where we're stayin'?" Chris answered him with his trade mark grin. As Trey walked to the other end of the dock, frightening Caroline as he stood next to Kiko, another motorboat pulled up to the dock with a girl with a ponytail and a large scar over her left eye. The girl stepped up onto the docks and walked up to Chris. "Meet Maurananei the Female Bad Cop!" the host said. The girl glared at him and growled slightly. "You better watch your step, _Chris,_" Maurananei hissed, saying his name like a curse. "Because I _will _get you." Chris blinked and stepped back in fear as the red jacket clad teen stalked down to the opposite end of the docks. Everyone quickly side stepped out of her way. Maurananei gave them an odd look, but ignored the gesture. She watched as yet another motor boat pulled up to the dock, and a small boy hopped out and walked up to Chris.

"Reese the Prankster!" Chris said as Reese strolled down the dock toward the rest of the cast. "Nice to meet all of you." he said to them, grabbing their hands and shaking them. Then he got to Maurananei. "Hello, my dear. My name is Reese. A pleasure to meet you." he said, extending his hand to her. Maurananei looked at it suspiciously, but eventually took it. Suddenly, a jolt of electricity shot through her! "AAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGH!" she cried as Reese and Chris laughed. The course of electricity suddenly stopped, leaving Maurananei's ponytail looking like a fried broom.

"I am going to get you if it's the last thing I do." she gasped as trails of smoke curled off her charred body. Reese smiled nervously and stood next to the others, away from Maurananei.

"Ahhhhh," Chris sighed as he wiped a tear of joy from his eye. "Our next contestant is . . . . what the heck is that?" Chris asked as the motor boat pulled up to the dock with a black cloaked figure sitting in the back. The small figure stepped out onto the dock, the only thing visible being their ruby red eyes. The sky darkened as thunder rolled and lightning cracked the sky. "Ah, thunder storms. How I love them." the figure said in a feminine voice. The girl flipped up her hood revealing a pale skinned face and a head of raven black hair. "Name's Mortisha Adams, but you can call me 'AAHHH!' if you want. That's what everyone calls me." the girl said, saying the last part sadly. "Um, yeah. Whatever." Chris said as the cloaked girl moved to the end of the dock. Maurananei edged away from her to stand with the rest of the group, not one of them objecting.

Chris composed himself as another motor boat pulled up with a lowly intern at the helm. "Where's Mitchell?" Chris asked the nervous intern. "You didn't lose him already, did you!?" The intern shook his head nervously and pointed skyward. Everyone followed to where he was pointing and saw a figure flying through the air above. "What the- is that guy using my jet pack!?" Chris yelled angrily as the figure, revealing to be a boy with dark brown hair with caramel streaks, floated down toward the dock. What surprised – and shocked – everyone was the fact that bright, hot, flames were coming out of his hands as scorching temperatures. Chris stood shocked as the teen landed on the dock and walked to the opposite end of the dock. "What, you can't control fire?" Mitchell said nonchalantly. Everyone blinked before regaining themselves. "Wow! You can shoot fire out of your hands!?" Reese cried with excitement. "Yes. Yes I can." Mitchell said with no enthusiasm. "Seriously, it's not that big of a deal."

"Are you kidding! That's the coolest thing EVER!" Reese yelled as an 8th motor boat pulled up to the docks. A mocha skinned girl with chocolate colored hair and hazel colored eyes sat in the back and climbed up onto the docks. She adjusted her tan vest coat and olive green skirt before moving forward. "Meet Toni the Animal Nut!" Chris said as Toni walked past him. "I'm not that crazy." Toni shot back at him. "Whatever. Just get out my camera time, will ya?" Chris said with annoyance. Toni rolled her eyes and moved to stand next to Caroline and Kiko. Caroline smiled and Toni grinned back, her eyes flashing yellow. "Is something wrong with your eyes?" Caroline asked Toni. "No. Nothing's wrong with my eyes." Toni reassured her. Caroline looked closer, and saw hazel colored eyes instead.

Caroline shrugged and turned to see a guy suddenly appear on the dock. A black mohawk sprouted up from his head, and a black shirt with a skull with a dagger stuck in it was on him. He wore black arm guards and black jeans. "Meet Eduardo the EMO Child." Chris said with a smile as Eduardo stared at him. And stared at him. And stared at him some more. "Um, hello? Are you okay?" Chris asked as he waved a hand in front of Eduardo's face. Eduardo seemed to startle before saying "Whatever." and walking to the edge of the dock, looking at the rest of the cast with a bored look.

Chris ignored him and turned to see a girl with incredibly long hair tied in a ponytail that reached down to her calves. She wore dark blue skinny jeans and a black long sleeve shirt that hung off her right shoulder. Seven piercings lined both her ears along with feathered earrings. Several bracelets were around her wrists, and she wore two inch heels on her feet. "Meet Anuok the Psychic Loner." Chris said, rubbing his hands together mischievously. "So, what's my fortune!?" he asked her excitedly. Anuok raised an eyebrow, rolled her eyes and closed her them. After a minute she pulled out a notepad and scribbled down on it before handing it to an animated Chris. Chris quickly read it over before looking confused. "You will mashed before a fishy audience today?" Chris read. Anuok shrugged and tapped the pad at the bottom. "I can only see 24 hours into the future?" Chris read. "Whatever. This is bogus. Just go." Chris sighed, clearly disappointed. Anuok shrugged and walked down the dock and stood next to Reese and Mitchell.

"Hahhh, anyway. Our next contestant is Alan the Perverted Optimist!" Chris said as a short, thin, boy dressed in an orange hoodie and blue jeans. A large pair of glasses sat on his nose. "Hi, Chris! Nice to meet you!" Alan said as he vigorously shook the host's hand. "I can't wait to do some challenges!" Chris frowned and jerked his hand back. "Sure. Whatevs. Just go so I can get going ok?" Alan nodded happily and ran down the dock to greet the others. While Alan was distracted, Chris reached into his pocket and pulled out a walkie talkie. "Chef? If you can hear me, put a nest of fire ants into Alan's bed, will ya?"

Chris quickly put the device away just before a tall girl with long blonde and brown hair, pink glasses, and a pink dress. Basically, she wore a _lot _of pink. "Zelda the Pink Monger." Chris said as Zelda walked over to the rest of the cast. "Hey, guys! You ready?" she asked in excitement. "You bet!" Alan cried, giving Zelda a high five before Chris cleared his throat. "Now, we have one more contestant to greet before we begin your first challenge. He should be here any moment." Chris said as he shielded his eyes and looked toward the horizon. Not a single motor boat arrived at the docks. "Look! Down there!" Kiko yelled, pointing toward the water, which had begun to broil and bubble. Everyone screamed and yelled as a large, muscled figure rose from the water, covered in seaweed. The character was muscled, and covered in scales. A long antenna sprouted from his head with a small light at the end. It's jaws jutted forward, revealing wicked teeth that didn't even fit in the mouth, they were so big; large, glazed eyes that looked as if they belonged to a deep sea creature sat on either side of its face. The creature roared and climbed up onto the dock, towering over everyone, even Zelda.

"Oh, man! Sorry!" the creature said in a high pitched, garbled voice. "Give me a sec!" he said to the startled cast before reaching for a symbol on his chest and slapping down it. There was a flash of red light and the large fish man disappeared. In its place was a tall boy with lightly tanned skin,dark brown hair, and large muscles. He had blue eyes the color of the sea and wore a red and black shirt with black pants and sneakers. A shark tooth necklace was looped around his neck, and a mysterious watch with the same symbol as before on it. It was red and silver, with the symbol looking an open, red mouth with sharp silver teeth. A long, black tongue curled over the teeth in a deep snarl. "Sorry about that! It happens sometimes!"

Everyone but Mortisha stood in shock. Mortisha walked up to him and suddenly gave him a hug. The boy looked surprised, but returned the hug with little hesitation. "My name's Mortisha." she said as her face turned a deep red. "Micheal." the boy said, taking her hand and shaking it. Mortisha blushed even more and walked Micheal over to the rest of the cast.

_**Confessional**_

"Okay, so I _might _like him. But can you blame me?" Mortisha says to the camera. "I've been alone for so long, I don't even know the definition of friend! Or _boyfriend_." she said, saying the last part with much pleasure.

_**End Confessional**_

"Okay, now that we've met Micheal the Watch Bearer, lets move on to our next challenge, shall we?" Chris said as he walked away. The cast followed him, stealing glances at Micheal as they moved along. Toni was looking at him the most, even though Mortisha was still holding Micheal's hand. They walked for a while before they reached a familiar clearing in the forest with a large pile of garbage and refuse. "What are we supposed to do with this junk?" Mitchell asked as he twirled three flaming rocks around in his fingers. Reese was watching, fascinated.

"This junk, as Mitchell calls it, are your building materials!" Chris said from atop the pile of garbage. "For all of you who watched the previous season, you will know that the teams had to make their own cabins to stay for the entire game. Today, you'll be doing the same thing!" Eduardo sighed. "That's totally lame. You have no original ideas of your own, Chris." he said with a bored tone. Chris glared at him and cocked an evil grin. "Your right, Eduardo. I am now going to thank you by unleashing a very good friend of mine," Chris said as he pressed a remote control. There was the sound of a mechanical door moving as a hatch opened in the trunk of a pine tree to the cast's right. Everyone turned to see a large shark crawl out on it's crocodile like legs. It grinned, showing its rows of razor sharp teeth. "Meet Fang 2.0!" Chris cried as the shark's eyes glowed red and a jet of lasers fired out and struck a tree, reducing it to ash. "Ah-hahaha! The egg headed interns really went to town with this baby! And who can blame them? After the destruction of Scuba Bear 3.0, we decided to make a robot duplicate of our beloved mutated shark friend, who is now enjoying his retirement in Australia!" Chris said as a flat TV screen popped up from the ground showing a picture of Fang chasing a surfer off the coast of Sydney. The TV vanished as Chris continued to speak. "Now, each member gets one turn to grab something _useful. _And by useful, I mean _useful. _Try not to grab something like the can of soup or bucket of glitter like the last cast did, okay?" Chris said. "But, we don't have our teams yet!" Maurananei exclaimed, her eyes darting between the faces of her team mates.

"Your very perceptive, Maurananei." Chris said. "When I call your name, go stand on that side of the junk yard; Toni, Alex, Reese, Anuok, Micheal, Kiko, and Zelda! You will now be known as the Rampaging Rhinos!" Chris said as the team gathered together. "That means Mitchell, Alan, Caroline, Trey, Eduardo, Maurananei, and Mortisha will now be called the Extreme Eagles!" The team moved to the other side of the garbage pile, and Mortisha was forced to let go of Micheal's hand. No one seemed to notice her disappointment though, as they were all engaged in preparing for the challenge. "Now, GO!" Chris yelled, blowing an air horn to signal the start of the challenge. The teams quickly separated and disappeared into the artificial forest.

* * *

><p>"Anybody got a plan?" Kiko whispered to her team mates. Zelda quickly raised her hand. "Um, Zelda? You don't have to raise your hand. We aren't in school." Zelda bowed and continued. "If one of us diverts the attention of the large, amphibious <em>Carcharodon carcharias<em>, we will be able to pick out far more useful stuff at a faster exponential rate." Everyone just stared at her, blinking. Zelda sighed and pinched her brow. "We distract the shark and we grab more stuff." Everyone gave a collective "oooooooooohhh" and nodded their heads in understanding.

_**Confessional**_

"Simpletons." Zelda mutters under her breath.

_**End Confessional**_

"Before anyone goes out there, we should check with Anuok, see if we're doing the right thing or not." Micheal suggested. Everyone turned to Anuok, who had already gone into a sort of meditation state. Seconds later, she opened her eyes and wrote something down on her notepad. Zelda took it read it over before closing her eyes for a moment and nodding. "I ran the calculations, and Micheal is the best candidate to distract fang."

Micheal shrugged. "If you say so. Lets see if I can get something useful." Zelda looked confused. "You say that as if you've had trouble before." Micheal nodded his head in shame. "The watch doesn't always exactly give me what I want. For instance, remember when I scared everyone crapless with that fish man? I was _hoping _I would get an eagle so I wouldn't freak everyone out. So much for that idea." he grumbled. Without another word, he reached for the watch and activated it, cycling through the holographic ring, and then selecting an animal. With a flash of red light, Micheal disappeared and a Thomson's Gazelle reappeared. The tiny antelope blinked and glanced over itself before its head drooped down.

"Let me guess, didn't get what you wanted?" Toni guessed. The gazelle walked over to her and bumped her leg with his head. Toni took this as a "yes". "Look, this has happened to you before, right?" she said. The gazelle nodded. "Well, just go with it! Oh, and try to be fast. I'm sure Fang's hungry." At this, the gazelle's eyes widened in terror before it darted away. Milliseconds later, the previously mentioned shark leaped onto the spot where Micheal had antecedently been, roared, and ran after the frightened gazelle. "Is he going to be alright?" Alex asked. Anuok closed her eyes for a second before flashed open. She quickly wrote something down on her notepad. Zelda grabbed her notepad and glanced over it before terror struck her face. "We have to save Micheal!" she yelled. "But what about the challenge!?" Reese cried.

* * *

><p>"How come we didn't get anybody with super powers!?" Maurananei yelled in exasperation as she saw the red flash light up the woods. Mitchell frowned and summoned a fire ball, which we hurled at a tree. The tree exploded into a shower of wood and sparks. "Hey! Easy on the equipment!" Chris's voice rang out from the loud speaker. Maurananei didn't seem to notice the act, although everyone else did. "At least the oversized guppy is gone." she said to herself. "Eagles, lets move out!" The team ran into the clearing and dove into the junk pile to gather anything they thought might be useful. A minute passed before the loud speaker crackled and Chris's infamous voice echoed across the island.<p>

"Oh, did I forget to mention that we also have Flying Starfish with Laser Eyes?"

"YES!" the entire Extreme Eagles team yelled in unison.

"My bad." Chris apologized as a cloud of small, orange starfish, all with a single red eye in their center, descended down on the, covering them in a large shadow. "I believe now would be a good time to run." Alan squeaked, just before the entire team panicked and fled into oppposite directions. The starfish split up into 7 smaller clouds, one for every poor, unfortunate contestant that was about to be flambeed.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Caroline cried as the starfish fired their lasers at her, striking trees and rocks, but missing her all together, though they would sometimes get very close. Caroline dove stole behind a ring and gasped for breath as the starfish flew past her. Caroline breathed a sigh of relief and fell to the ground. "Why does Chris make this so damn hard?" she sighed. There was a rustling sound, and Caroline tensed up, waiting for another monster to come at her. Instead, a small gazelle jumped out of the brush and landed next to her, too tired to even be afraid of her. Caroline relaxed. _At least it's harmless, _she thought. _I hope._

Tentatively, she reached out to the poor animal, who was too exhausted to resist. "You poor thing. What are you doing here so far away from Africa?" she asked as he petted the frightened animal. "Did that mean Chris bring here so you could be food?" The gazelle shook its head and moved its head to the red and silver collar around its neck. Caroline reached for it, and the antelope recoiled. "Don't be afraid! I won't hurt you!" Caroline told the gazelle. The gazelle didn't listen and bounded away before Caroline could say anything else. Moments later, Fang jumped out from behind the tree to land on the spot where the gazelle had been moments before. The amphibious shark snapped his fingers in frustration before running after the collar wearing antelope. Caroline would have followed, but was decided she wanted to live when the swarm of flying starfish found her once more.

"What is wrong with this island!?" she cried in frustration as she ran through the forest again.

* * *

><p>The Rampaging Rhinos had decided that in order to rescue Micheal from a grizzly fate, they would divide up into two smaller team; Zelda, Kiko, Alex, and Toni would compete in the challenge, while Reese and Anuok rescued Micheal from Fang. The two groups would then rendezvous at the Pimâpotew Kinosewak's old tree house from last season. "He sure is fast for a fish with legs," Reese panted as he and Anuok ran through the woods after the robotic shark. Anuok remained silent and continued to run, while Reese dragged behind, his back hunched and arms low to the ground. They ran after Fang for what seemed forever, the main reason so was that Anuok would stumble or trip over every log or rock they came across. Eventually, they lost sight of Fang and Micheal all together.<p>

"What _(pant) _are we _(pant) _going to do _(pant) _now?" Reese wheezed as he collapsed to the ground. Anuok sat next to him on a log, rubbing her sore knees. She was pretty sure that Chris was making this extra difficult for her, ordering the artificial island to move its trees and rocks just to trip her up and make a fool of herself on international TV. "Anuok?" Reese asked. Anuok looked toward him, but didn't say anything. "Do you have any idea on how to save Micheal?" Reese asked her. Anuok closed her eyes and concentrated. Minutes later, she frowned and her eyes opened again as she shook her head no. Reese sighed and sat next to her. "Why do you never talk, Anuok?" he asked her. Anuok heaved a breath that Reese assumed was a sigh and turned away. "Was it something I said?" Reese asked confused. Anuok shook her head no and got up from the log. She walked away from him with her head down and her arms folded over her chest.

_**Confessional**_

"Something's bothering Anuok," Reese said. "She hasn't said a single word ever since she got here. All she does is write on her notepad." Reese paused and thought about something. "Maybe she just can't talk at all?" he guessed.

_**End Confessional**_

"Anuok! Wait!" Reese cried as he ran after her. Unfortunately for Reese, Anuok had simply seemed to disappear into thin air. One moment she was there, the next she had mysteriously vanished, as if she hadn't existed at all in the first place. Reese gulped and began to walk forward through the woods, jumping at every single rustle in the bush or snap of a twig. It seemed, at least to him, that the entire island was out to get him. Every tree, rock, and freaky mutant appeared to want to hurt him in some way or other. And the constant screams that rang through the quiet forest weren't exactly helpful either

* * *

><p>Unbeknownst to Reese, or even Chris for that matter, Anuok sat alone up in the large hollow of a huge pine tree. The prickly branches and needles discouraged anyone that tried to get up there into the hollow. Everyone but Anuok. Sighing, she sat back and let her sore muscles relax. And she began thinking. Everyone seemed so nice, and they all seemed to want to be her friend, asking her for advice whenever the future was clear enough. Zelda, while the smartest person on the island, always let Anuok go through her plans to see if there were any unaccounted flaws she had missed. And with Chris, there would always be a surprise that neither Zelda nor Anuok hadn't seen, which would no doubt try to kill them. She loved her new found friends, and she hoped they would stay her friends, but she knew that it would be difficult for someone who didn't talk to keep up a social life.<p>

Just then, a red tailed hawk alighted down on the branch outside the hollow. It peered into the hollow, spotted Anuok and screeched. It then stepped back out and pecked at a small red and silver collar around its neck. In a flash of red light, the bird was gone. In its place was Micheal, trying desperately to regain his balance on the tree branch. Once he had managed to sit down comfortably, he turned to Anuok, who was looking at him with curiosity dancing in her eyes.

"Anuok?" Micheal asked. "Why are you all the way up here, instead of helping the team?" Anuok reached into her pocket, pulled her notepad and pen and wrote something down on it before handing it to Micheal. He sighed, took it in one hand, and read it over. When he was done, he handed it back to her. "So Reese is out here too?" he asked. Anuok jerked her head up and down. "So, why exactly are you up here? In this tree?" Micheal asked her. Anuok just frowned and turned away from him. Micheal stretched his neck upward in an attempt to see her face, which was contorted into pain. "Are you shy?"

Nod. Yes.

"You don't have a lot of friends, do you?"

Shake. No.

"Do you trust a lot of people?"

Shake. No.

"What about us? The Rhinos?"

A shrug of her shoulders.

Micheal sighed and edged closer to the opening of the hollow. "Look, I don;t know what happened to you in the past, but I can guarantee that no one here is here just to hurt you. Not me, not Kiko, not Reese, not even Toni. While I can;t say the same for the Eagles or Chris, I will swear upon my Animatrix that we won;t hurt you in any way." Micheal said to her. Anuok didn't move. Micheal sighed. "I'm going back to the challenge to help the others. If you aren't back in a half hour, I'm coming back for you, and I will drag you to the team. Not because I'm trying to be cruel to you or anything; I just want to make sure you don't get voted off." Micheal then edged away from the hole in the tree and activated his watch.

Once he selected an animal, he turned to look at Anuok's small form and pressed the symbol. The familiar red flash enveloped him, and a bald eagle took to the sky, stretching its 8 ft wingspan, leaving Anuok by herself once more.

* * *

><p>"Alright, lets see what we've got here." Kiko said as she dusted off her hands. While Micheal had been risking his life, and Reese and Anuok had gone off to go save him, the rest of the team had focused on getting what they needed from the junk pile while the going was good. Kiko looked down at what they collected, and was mildly pleased that everyone managed to grab something useful; several coils of old rope, a couple piles of planks, some metal sheeting and shingles, a bucket filled with nails, hinges, and screws, and an assortment of tools. "So, what do we do with this stuff?" Alex said, picking up a plank of wood. Unfortunately for him, there was a spider on the board, and it didn't exactly look friendly. With a girl scream, Alex dropped the board and hid behind Kiko, who looked at him oddly.<p>

_**Confessional**_

"Okay, so I _might _have a _slight _fear of insects and spiders." Alex confessed to the camera. "When I was 7, my sister put fire ants in my bed after I told on her when she stole a cookie from the cookie jar. Ever since then, I've developed a phobia of arthropods. I can't even go to seafood restaurants anymore! I'm afraid the crabs and lobsters will get me!" he cried to the camera. Just then a fly landed on his forehead, causing him to scream and then faint.

_**End Confessional**_

Zelda looked over the pile of equipment and looked at their rendezvous point, the Pimâpotew Kinosewak's old tree house. It had started to rot and become overgrown with moss, mold, and vines, and was in desperate need of repairs, not that the shows cheap host would do anything to fix it up. "I have a solution." Zelda said to her team. "We could use this stuff to repair the damaged tree house from last season." Everyone quickly agreed to the idea, as it saved time by actually having to build a shelter, and with the show being run by a mad man, being above the ground had its advantages. Toni grabbed some of the old rope and slung it over one of the railings of the tree house, so the team could haul their supplies up. A couple of minutes after they had done so, a bald eagle landed on the railing before hopping down to the deck. A flash of red light later, and Micheal appeared, looking slightly pleased with himself.

"What are you smiling about?" Toni asked. "Other than the fact that you're still alive?" Micheal smiled and grabbed a hammer and some nails. "Nice idea with rebuilding the old tree house from last season. Chris isn't gonna be happy when he sees this." Zelda cocked an eyebrow in confusion. "And just why would he be unhappy?" she asked him. "Because he was planning on testing to see if our shelters were bison proof." he answered as he pounded away on a nail. "Bison? Isn't that a bit cliché?" Alex asked. "I mean, serious. He did the same thing with moose last season!"

Micheal shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. What I _do _know is that the other team is never gonna beat us. Last time I saw them, they were being chased by some mutant, flying starfish." "Seriously? Mutant starfish?" Kiko asked. "Isn't that a bit overboard?" There then was a crackling noise as Chris's voice came across the speakers. "No, no it is not overboard. Now be quiet before I unleash the beaver bots on you!"

* * *

><p>"Chris! When I get my hands on you, I swear, you won't be able to walk right for a month!" Maurananei yelled as she ran from the mutant starfish. "Oooooh! I'm so scared!" Chris said in a mocking tone to the flat screen TV capturing the terror of the campers for him to watch. "Uh, Chris I think you <em>should<em> be scared." Chef said nervously, pointing at the screen. Chris turned to look at the screen, and what he saw actually frightened him. Maurananei had suddenly ripped an entire pine tree out from the island circuitry and was currently using it like a baseball bat to try and swat the flying starfish. "Wow. Didn't see that coming." was all Chris managed to say.

Just then, Maurananei noticed the camera filming her, and a sly smile split across her face. "Hiiiii, Chef!" Maurananei cried. "Like what you see?" she asked as she posed, throwing the pine tree and taking them out for good. Chef however, looked green. "I have never felt so sick in my life." he gasped. "No kidding! I just lost my deposit on those Starfish-bots!" Chris exclaimed.

_**Confessional**_

"Chefy Wefy is the perfect man for me." Maurananei sighed. "He's got everything I love! Big muscles, deep voice, loves to torture people, and even a dark, mysterious past! What more could you want!?" Maurananei laughed with glee.

_**Change Confessional**_

_Chef throwing up in the confessional._

_**End Confessional**_

"Come on Chefy Wefy! Come on out so I can give you a big kiss!" Maurananei yelled to the camera. The cameraman holding the camera, looked more disgusted then he had ever been. "Maurananei, stop flirting with Chef and get on with the challenge!" Chris yelled over the speakers. One could literally hear the rage dripping from his voice. "Oh, fine! But I will be back for you, Chef! I'll always be here for you!" Maurananei yelled before running back toward the clearing. She found Alan, Mortisha, Mitchell, and Eduardo already sifting through the wreckage of the junkyard. Caroline was no where to be found, and Trey was up in a tree, keeping watch for Fang, lest he return and turn one of them into a chew toy. "Do you see anything yet!?" Mitchell yelled up to the top of a large tree. A second passed before a loud shrieking could be heard, blasting all the trees back. All the birds within a mile radius suddenly exploded, their wires and circuits sparking.

"I'm gonna guess that's a no." Mitchell said.

"WHAT!?" Alan cried.

"I'm gonna guess that's a no!" Mitchell yelled.

WHAT!?" Mortisha yelled.

"I'M GONNA GUESS THAT'S A NO!" Mitchell roared at his team mates.

"Well you don't have to yell!" Maurananei shot back at him. Mitchell merely sighed, pinched his brow, and went back to digging through the junk yard. "This is bogus!" Maurananei yelled in frustration after a quarter of an hour. "All the good stuff is taken, and Caroline is no where to be found!" A groan came from the woods, and a couple minutes later a burnt, broken, and dazed Caroline crawled out from the forest, her left arm hanging limply at her side. "What the heck happened to you!?" Mitchell asked as he and the rest of the team ran over to her, catching her just before she fell to the ground.

"Shark . . . . . starfish . . . . . . gazelle . . . . . . poison ivy . . . ." she groaned. Everyone flinched when they saw her red skin, raw from so much itching. "That's gotta hurt." Maurananei said as Mortisha and Mitchell propped Caroline up on their shoulders and helped walk her over to the junk pile where they set her down on a rock to rest. "You sit here and rest. We'll try and grab something useful from the pile." Mortisha told her. Caroline nodded and lay down on the rock, resisting the urge to scratch her already burning skin. "And time's almost up!" Chris's voice yelled from the loud speaker. "You have 5 minutes!"

"Quick! Everyone grab something useful and meet me at the swamp!" Maurananei ordered to her team. "I've got an idea!" Her team complied as Trey jumped down from his tree to help and Maurananei scooped Caroline up in her arms as she ran towards the swamp.

* * *

><p>"Come on, people! Build! Build! Build!" Maurananei yelled as the precious seconds ticked by. While her team mates had been busy grabbing supplies, Maurananei had been busy finding a spot to build their shelter and had come across an area of swamp with four trees standing standing in a square pattern, with the trees being at the corners. Her idea had been to build a sort of stilt house above the swamp, similar to the ones down in New Orleans. After setting Maurananei down in a bed of reeds, Maurananei set to work with finding four logs to create the frame for the floor of the house. Once she had secured them to the trees with vines, she gathered smaller logs to create walls, which were also tied together with vines. She was about to go hunting for some reeds when her team mates arrived, covered in mosquito bites.<p>

"Let me guess, you invited some mosquitoes over for lunch?" Maurananei joked at them. The team simply glared at her and dropped their supplies on a small mud flat. A small pile of rotting boards, rusty nails, a lighter, and some rope were among the useful items in the pile. Among the not so useful items were a couple bales of hay, a stool with a broken leg, a can of tuna, and a whistle of sorts. "Well, I guess _some _of this stuff we can work with." Maurananei sighed. "Mitchell, Mortisha, and Alan? Get to work on the floor. Trey, Eduardo, and I will go gather some reeds to make a roof. Got it?"

"Whatever." Eduardo sighed before trudging off into the swamp with Trey and Maurananei following closely behind. "What is that kid's problem?" Maurananei asked Trey quietly as they followed Eduardo through the swamp. "You talkin' 'bout the dude with the EMO attitude? No idea." Trey said as he tuned his guitar.

"I know your talking about me back there." Eduardo moaned back to them. "And my problem is that I have no desire to live." Maurananei looked at him strangley. "So, you aren't here to win the million dollars?" Eduardo shook his head. "No, I came here in the hopes that Chris's challenges would kill me. So far, the only one who's injured is Caroline." Without another word he moved off in another direction away from Maurananei and Trey.

* * *

><p>"Done!" Alex yelled triumphantly as he hammered in the last nail. The team cheered as Alex climbed down from the roof. The tree house was complete; the railing was replaced, a rope ladder was added, mold was scrapped away, beds were fixed, and even a small indoor plumbing system with a sink (Zelda had thought of that one). As everyone celebrated, Micheal slipped away from the group, climbing down the rope ladder to the ground before activating the watch and slapping down on the transformation button. The red flash engulfed him as he ran into the forest, away from his team.<p>

Just then, Chris arrived on his infamous jet pack, hovering a few feet from the tree house railing. "Nice, Rampaging Rhinos. Using the old tree house from last season! Brilliant!" he announced, receiving more cheers. "Now it is time to defend your shelter!" The cheers abruptly stopped. "As a wise man once said, a man's home is his castle. I've decided to take that quote and make reality! You have to defend your shelter from the other team and either capture all of them, or capture/destroy their own fortress. You have 10 minutes to prepare!" Chris said as he left in a cloud of smoke. Everyone just stood there for a moment, letting it all sink in, before they began to yell; either complaining about Chris or discussing battle strategies for the challenge. Either way, it was a lot of yelling.

* * *

><p>Elsewhere on the island, was a small boy wandering through the woods, jumping at every little sound that met his ears; the snap of a twig, the rustling if something running through the leaves, a shadow passing overhead. Reese gulped as he walked deeper and deeper into the woods, searching for his lost friends Anuok – who had suddenly disappeared into the forest without a trace – and Micheal – who had sacrificed himself as shark bait so the rest of the team could win the challenge – and he was getting no where close to finding him.<p>

"Hello?" he called out into the dark woods. The trees had begun to overlap, their canopies shutting out any sunlight that tried to fight their way through to the forest floor. A crow cawed off in the distance, making him jump. A rustling in the leaves behind him made him startle, and when a dark pair of brown eyes peered out at him from a bush, he began to all out run in the opposite direction. "AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" he cried. The thing was after him!

No matter where Reese ran, the thing was always just behind him, jumping and swinging through the tree tops with ease. Once or twice he felt it graze his back, but this only made him run faster, his heart pumping like crazy. And suddenly he was off the ground! A pair of large, rough, leathery hands were hooked on his brown sweatshirt, pulling him off the the ground and into the air, as if it were flying on a pair of great wings.

"Please, Mr. Monster! Just make my death quick and swift!" he begged. The monster didn't react and simply continued on its way through the trees, with Reese not having the slightest clue where he was going. After what felt like hours they finally came to a large tree with a large hollow in its side, and Reese quickly assumed this was the monster's lair, where he would be quickly devoured with seasoning and butter. Instead he was ungracefully dumped on the branch outside the hollow, knocking the wind out of him. Another loud thump met his ears as the monster landed next to him. Reese closed his eyes and prepared for the worst, but nothing came. Daring a peek, he cracked open his eyes and saw a large, orange hair orangutan sitting on the branch next to him, munching on a papaya. Reese breathed a sigh of relief and scrambled up onto the branch to get more comfy. He studied the orangutan, trying to avoid looking at its horrible table manners, and noticed it had a round disk stuck to its chest with a red and silver teeth pattern on it.

"Micheal?" he asked. "Is that you?" The orangutan nodded, and hooted with amusement. Reese frowned and folded his arms. "It wasn't funny. You nearly gave me a heart attack!" he yelled at the ape, who covered its eyes with its hands. Reese huffed and turned away. Moments later, half of a papaya landed on his lap, and he turned to see a hopeful gaze on the male orangutan's face. A peace offering. Reese sighed, took the papaya, and stuffed it into his pocket. "Fine. I'll let this one off the hook." he said, greeted by a happy grunt from the great ape. Reese smiled. "But, I have to ask, Micheal. Why'd you bring me here? I doubt you wanted to have lunch with me." The orangutan nodded and gestured into the tree hole, motioning for Reese to follow. Reese peered inside, and was promptly shoved in, landing on his face. He picked himself up, spitting out tree bark, and saw a small figure off to one side with its back turned to her. A red flash lit up the dark hollow, and Micheal was there, crouching low.

"She hasn't moved in over and hour." he said to Reese.

"And she hasn't probably said anything either." Reese guessed.

Anuok could hear them both talking about her. Seriously, who couldn't? They were less than two feet away from her. And what she heard made her wonder. Was all her friends saw out of her just something to abuse and then toss aside when it lost its use? Well, at least Micheal and Reese cared enough to come back for her. At least that was something.

"Look, either way we need you Anuok." Micheal told her. "We need you now, or you'll be taking the Ride of Shame tonight! And neither me or Reese want that!" At this, Anuok perked up. Her friends wanted her?

"We don't care whether you can't or won't talk," Reese said to her. "We just want you back and out of this sulking mood." Other than that last part, Anuok was more than happy that her friends accepted her for what she was, silent or not. With that in mind, she stood up (as much as one could in a tree hollow) and pulled both Reese and Micheal into a hug, startling both of them. "I'll take that as a yes?" Reese guessed. Anuok bobbed her head and they all exited the tree hollow and climbed down to the ground. "Give me a sec, and we can be on our way." Micheal said as he fiddled with the watch. "I imagine that the challenge has already taken place. Hope we're not too late."

* * *

><p>"Where's Micheal when you need him!" Kiko cried. That added up to three team mates MIA. <em>And one of them is goin' home tonight<em>, she thought. She yelped as another explosion set off just a few feet to her left. She screamed and ran forward as flaming arrows shot off and embedded themselves in the ground where she had been moments before. "Who gives a team of teenagers dynamite and arrows to protect a fort!" she screamed. Another explosion ripped apart a tree to her right, splinters flying everywhere. "When I get my hands on Chris, I am gonna rip him a new one!" she said to herself. As one who might have been watching the show could have guessed, Chris had given the team with the cruddy cabin the more dangerous equipment. The other team had gotten wooden swords, angry leeches, and poorly built slingshots as weapons.

Things were not going well for the Rhinos.

Add the fact that the Eagles had built their cabin in the middle of a swamp, surrounded by mosquito infested, alligator crawling, and piranha inhabited water that smelled as if several hundred somethings had gone and died in it. Needless to say, it _stank. _And while Kiko hated to admit it, the Extreme Eagles did a good job at defending their fortress, using their natural surroundings to their advantage. The extra fire power provided by Chris was an added bonus. That, and the fact that she was alone of here with only Zelda at her side guaranteed a win for the Extreme Eagles. While the girl was as smart as hell, Kiko wasn't exactly sure if she was capable of dealing damage.

"Incoming!" she heard Zelda shout from somewhere above the swamp, hidden in the trees. Kiko instinctively back as another explosion went off in front of her, sending seering heat through the air. It was a wonder nothing caught fire. "Move!" Zelda cried as a loud rustling could be heard in the tree tops. Kiko moved forward, kicking up small waves as she entered the water. She shivered as she felt something slide past her leg, but she didn't have time to think about that right now.

"Do you see anything all the way up there!?" she yelled up. Zelda could barely hear her voice over the rounds of explosions and dramatic music that seemed to suddenly pop in randomly at the right time. "Nothing yet!" she called back down. She then quickly jumped to another tree, clearing the landing with ease. She breathed a sigh of relief. Normally she was terrible with heights of any kinds. It was a wonder she had made it through the building challenge without worry of her nerves kicking in all that way up above the ground . . . .

That was when she fainted.

Kiko slogged through the swamp as fast as she could manage with a could of mosquitoes buzzing around her head (Chris had been nice enough _**not **_to provide bug spray), when a sudden splash to her right caught her attention. Fearing it was another alligator (a rather large one had attempted to make a meal of out her, and had only given up when Kiko had thrown rocks, sticks, and an old can of ravioli at it), she readied herself in the best fighting stance she could muster, and was shocked to see it was Zelda floating face down in the hot sludge, small bubbles trailing from her lips.

_**Confessional**_

"Okay, so I _may _have a slight fear of heights," Zelda admitted to the camera, her hair and clothes damp. " And I may have a fear of fire, closed spaces, the dark, being alone, and death. And I don't do so well around things with scales and teeth." She sighed. "Thank goodness Kiko was there to pull me out and give me CPR. Although I wonder why her lips tasted like rotting fish." she said to herself, smacking her lips slightly.

_**End Confessional**_

Kiko quickly slogged over to Zelda and looped her arms over her shoulders and around her neck before pulling her towards the mud covered shore. Once there she lay Zelda on her back and began to forcefully pump her chest region, forcing as much water out of her lungs as she could. When that only seemed to bring a little of the color back to Zelda's face, Kiko panicked. "What am I supposed to do?" she yelled aloud to herself. "I am not giving this girl mouth to mouth after he icky lips have been covered in god knows what!" Suddenly a raccoon scurried by, pausing to look curiously at the two girls, and a cruel thought crossed Kiko's mind.

_**Confessional**_

"Okay, so maybe using a raccoon to give Zelda mouth to mouth was a bit much." Kiko said. "But would you have seriously given mouth to mouth to someone who had their face dunked in to nature's equivalent of a compost pile? Na-ah. I don't think so."

_**End Confessional**_

Kiko quickly tossed the startled and deeply disturbed raccoon back into the woods just as Zelda started to cough and sputter up water. A few seconds later and her eyes opened. "Thanks," she croaked. "I owe you one." Kiko smiled. "I'll keep that in mind." she said with a sinister tone, though Zelda didn't seem to pick up on it.

_**Confessional**_

Kiko seemed to be ecstatic. "Yes! I finally have an ally in this game!" she cried, pumping a fist in the rank air of the outhouse. "Just goes to show ya that with age comes beauty _and _brains!"

_**End Confessional**_

"And it seems that the Rampaging Rhinos suck both at attacking _and _defending!" Chris announced from the safety of his helicopter. Down below him, the two remaining team mates of the Rampaging Rhinos – Alex and Toni – were doing everything in what little power they had to stop the attack of the Extreme Eagles led by Trey, Alan, Mortisha, and Mitchell, who were all armed with large bazookas. "How come they get ***BEEP*** bazookas! Toni swore as she dodged a shot by Alan. Mitchell and Trey had long since ditched their firearms in favor of their own weapons; Trey played a rock solo on his guitar, sending out large amounts of sound waves that assaulted anyone's ears within a 10 mile radius, while Mitchell shot round after round of molten hot fire. Alex panicked as their tree house was suddenly ablaze, small fires dotting the deck and eating away at the rope ladder.

"AHH!" Alex yelled as another sound wave hit the tree house, his ears pounding like a drum set hooked up to a loud speaker at the grand canyon (don't ask me how I know this). Toni quickly grabbed her slingshot and loaded it with a small rock. She pulled the string taunt and let the rock fly, hitting Trey in the gut, making him stop playing for a moment. Toni quickly reloaded and fired another rock, this time hitting him in the leg. She then began to quickly fire rock after rock at Trey, keeping him from playing his guitar, which he was using as a shield.

"Dude! Not cool!" he yelled as Mitchell shot off around another round of fire at Toni. Alex panicked and ran back into the main structure of the tree house and came back out with a long fire house that was hooked up to the sink. "When did we have time to install that!?" Toni asked him as she continued to fire her rocks at Trey. Alex shrugged and turned on the hose, firing a thin stream of water at Mitchell. Mitchell quickly swerved to the right, just barely missing the jet of water. Another jerk of the hose, and Mitchell was soaked and falling out of the sky toward the nearby lake.

* * *

><p>"Are you good?" Kiko asked Zelda. The girl gave a thumbs up and they continued through the swamp. After a half hour of trudging, climbing, slipping, and falling they finally caught sight of the Extreme Eagle's stilt house fortress. It really did look like a shabby house of stilts that one might find hidden deep in the bayous of Louisiana. Kiko held a finger up to her lips and the two girls crept forward. Silently, they moved forward through the waist deep water of the swamp, swimming as silently as an alligator stalking prey.<p>

"Woah!" Zelda yelled as she suddenly plunged downward in the water. Moments before her head went under, Kiko grabbed her hand and yanked her up, with a slightly annoyed look on her face. Zelda was breathing heavily. "Thanks, Kiko! I owe you another one." Zelda gasped.

_**Confessional**_

"Wow. Two favors in one day!" Kiko said excitedly. "If this keeps up I'll have her eating out of my hand! And once she's out lived her usefullness?" Kiko then drew her finger across her neck with a slicing sound.

_**Change Confessional**_

"Kiko has saved my butt twice in one day." Zelda stated to the camera. "I feel so safe that she has my back!"

_**Change Confessional**_

"While I may not be the best trap maker in the world," Maurananei told the camera with an amused look plastered on her face. "I can't believe someone actually fell into the underwater pit traps! Took me a while to dig them, but it was worth it!" Suddenly, a thought occurred to her. "Chef, do you like what you see?" she asked, posing for the camera.

_**End Confessional**_

"Look out!" Kiko screamed as another bomb crashed into a tree and exploded, sending up a tidal wave of swamp water. "Quick! Behind that pile of sticks!" Zelda yelled. Both girls quickly dove behind the pile and peeked out over the edge, just another bomb was fired at them from the stilt house. The girls screamed as it went off, sending Kiko into a tree and Zelda at the silt house, flying in through an open window. Groaning, she picked herself up and came face to face with an angry Maurananei holding a small dagger to her throat. "Don't move." she hissed. Zelda gulped and riased her hands in surrender. Maurananei put the knife away and grabbed Zelda by the hands, lifting her clean off the ground, and walked over to a corner where a coil of rope lay. A few seconds and a round of rope later, Zelda sat tied up in the corner with a piece of cloth tied over her mouth, silencing her.

To Zelda's left lay Caroline, who was still injured. Her arm was in a sling, and most of her scratches and bruises were in bandages or fixes. "You okay?" Zleda asked her, but it sounded more like "Mou moay?" Carloine nodded her head as much as she could, wincing in pain. Zelda immediately felt sorry for her. Next chance she got, Chris was getting a whooping.

"Hey, what's that sound?" Maurananei wondered as loud sucking sound could be heard. She ran to the window and looked at the wall of sticks to see a large hole in it, the water being sucked away like it was a bathtub drain. Slowly, the water level of the swamp receded, leaving a mud floor dotted with wet grass, puddles, flopping fish, and several large pits. A stray alligator grumbled as the water was drained away, and slid into one of the deeper puddles.

"Darn it!" Maurananei cursed. "Eduardo! I need you on the ground!"

"Whatever." was the response as Eduardo climbed down the ladder to the ground with a bazooka strapped to his back. "With any luck, this thing will kill me." he said to himself. "FIRE!" Maurananei commanded as Kiko suddenly appeared, charging through the trees. Eduardo aimed and fired off a round of ammunition, missing every time as Kiko dodged and rolled her way out of trouble. "Damn it!" Maurananei cursed. "Eduardo, you are the worst shot I have ever seen!"

"As if I care." Eduardo muttered to himself. He quickly reloaded and fired again, missing every time he fired, until an explosion caught Kiko off guard and caused her to fall to the ground. "Get her Eduardo!" ordered. Eduardo sighed and aimed thew weapon at Kiko's head, his finger on the trigger. "Do you give up or something?" he droned. Kiko was about to reply when the ground started to rumble and shake.

"Earthquake!" Kiko yelled.

"The Cops!" Maurananei roared.

"The Apocalypse!" Zelda cried in a muffled voice.

"My twin sister!" Eduardo said with a bored tone.

"Neither!" Caroline managed to moan. Maurananei turned to her with a worry all over her. "Well? What is it!?" she roared in a panicked sense. If there is nothing more terrifying than your deepest, darkest fears, it's facing those deep, dark fears in the unknown. And that was what they were experiencing right now.

"Elephant!" Caroline screamed. Maurananei dashed to the window and saw a massive mountain of muscle and bone crashing through the trees, flattening them with ease. The animal let loose a loud trumpet that shook the island, sending clouds of birds flying into the sky. Maurananei cried out in surprise and jumped out the window, completely forgetting about Caroline and Zelda in the process.

"CHAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGE!" Reese yelled, pointing a finger at the stilt house. The elephant trumpeted again and surged forward. Anuok sat just behind Reese, clinging on for dear life as the animal ran. Explosions suddenly went off behind them and Anuok turned to see clouds of fire sprout up from the ground. Anuok quickly scribbled on her note pad and handed it to Reese. "Mines!? Seriously!?" he yelled.

_**Confessional**_

"Okay, so _maybe _I went a little overboard with the traps and defenses." Maurananei admitted.

_**End Confessional**_

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Maurananei cried as she landed on a mine that went off and careened her through the air, just as the elephant smashed through the stilt house like it was made of toothpicks (which, compared to an elephant, it kind of was). "Woah!" Caroline cried as she was sent into the air and landed (hard) on the elephant's back. Zelda was caught by the the animal's trunk, and was ungaged and freed by Reese. Reese then steered the elephant back around, and grabbed the back of Kiko's shirt as they rode past, trampling Eduardo in the process.

"Yes . . . . finally!" he gasped from the ground.

"And the Rampaging Rhinos win!" Chris announced. "By completely obliterating the Extreme Eagle's fort, they win the first challenge of the season, and, get to enjoy a couple hours in our new Hangout of Awesomeness!" Chris yelled, gesturing to a bunker like building. The door opened up to reveal three flat screen TVs, video game consoles, a hot tub, several couches and bean bag chairs, and fully stocked pizza pantry with unlimited soda. The Rhinos cheered and celebrated, while the elephant lumbered over to a bruised Trey, soaked Mitchell, mangled Alan, and surprisingly unscathed Mortisha, and gently set Caroline down on the ground in front of them.

"Unfortunately for the Extreme Eagles, you will be sending one sorry looser home tonight!" Chris said as the four teens glanced at each other nervously.

_**Confessional**_

"Okay, so _maybe _I've been a bit bossy lately," Maurananei admitted glumly. There was a thick bandage around her head, her hair still covering her eye, and her right arm was in a sling. "I just hope I'm not the one going home tonight. I haven't had enough time with my Chefy Wefy yet."

_**Change Confessional**_

"There is no way I am ever seeing that maniac of a girl!" Chef yelled. "I vowed to stay single afta that time in Austria! And besides, she gives me the creeps." siad, saying the last part as he shivered in fear.

_**End Confessional**_

"Ahh, the Elimination Ceremony," Chris sighed from his station; an old tar barrel that acted as a podium. The Extreme Eagles sat on several logs and barrels, with worried looks on their eyes.

"One of your sorry butts is going home tonight." Chris said. "If I give you a marshmallow, your safe." he said, holding up a plate of 6 marshmallows. "Mortisha." Mortisha squealed with excitement and caught her marshmallow.

"Mitchell." Chris said, tossing the marshmallow to the Pyro-teen. Mitchell caught in his hand and roasted it with his eyes, sending out a jet of flame before eating it.

"Trey." Trey pumped his fist and caught his marshmallow.

"Caroline." Chris said, throwing the marshmallow to Caroline. The delicious campfire treat merely bounced off her face and fell to the ground, the poor girl unable to catch it.

"Alan." Chris said. "YES!" the boy cried, jumping up and down happily. That left Maurananei and Eduardo, both sporting bandages and casts.

"Maurananei! You're on the chopping block for your poor leadership skills, poor building skills, poor trap making skills . . . . . wow, you don't have a lot of good skills, do ya?" Chris said, Maurananei hanging her head in shame. "_And _leaving a team mate to be crushed by a 6 ton pachyderm? Not cool." Chris added. Maurananei bit her lip as Chris moved on to Eduardo.

"And Eduardo! Your here for not helping your team out and just saying 'Whatever' instead." Chris said. Eduardo merely shrugged, not caring that he had a broken leg and neck.

"And the final marshmallow goes to . . . . . . ."

Maurananei bit her lip, nervousness crawling through her and eating away at her like a parasite. Eduardo just starred ahead blankly, not caring in the slightest about what might happen next. The rest of team waited anxiously, wanting to know who would remain with them and who would be sent home. Mortisha bit her fingernails. Alan bit his lip and twiddled his fingers. Trey played with his hair nervously. Mitchell twirled three flaming rocks around in his fingers. Caroline couldn't do anything but sweat. The suspense was killing everyone.

"Maurananei." Chris said, finally. "You're safe. For tonight."

"Yes!" Maurananei cheered, wincing at the jolt of pain from her right arm. "Eduardo! You're being sent home, via our new elimination device!" Chris announced, gesturing down to the docks, where Chef waited with a tarp. The muscled cook yanked it off, revealing a sleek, black submarine with Chris's face painted on the side.

"Behold! The Torpedo of Shame!" Chris said.

* * *

><p>The inside of the submarine was filled with fancy items; a fireplace, a wood burning pizza oven, a leather recliner with a cappuccino machine on the side table, a large flat screen TV, and imported rug. The only part that was decorated to impress was the area where they loaded the torpedoes to be fired. "Any finally words?" Chris asked the EMO kid as he climbed into a capsule shaped like a torpedo.<p>

"Whatever." was all the boy said as the capsule sealed shut. Chef grabbed the seed vessel and shoved it into the firing station, signaling Chris that everything was ready.

"FIRE!" Chris yelled as he pressed a remote control was a large red button. The submarine fired the capsule with Eduardo inside, sending him flying through the water toward a distant island, where it exploded with a satisfying BOOM!

"1 down, and 13 to go!" Chris said as he turned to the camera. "Who will win? Who will lose? And who will be the next one to boom? Find next time on Total! Drama! Pahkitew's Vengeance!"

**And there's the first episode! So, what did you think? Good? Bad? Please give me your comments in the reviews below! I have gotten a few Pms for other characters, and I am here to announce that they will be coming into the game at a later date and time. If you have any criticism, ideas for challenges, or just want to chat, just PM me or comment in the reviews. I am going to apologize I advance; if your OC doesn't end up with someone, no flames! Those belong to Mitchell!**


	2. Beauty and the Zeke

**Hey! I'm back! I'm happy that I got so many reviews so quickly! Either way, if you have ideas for future challenges and plots, please PM me! And remember! YOU get to decide who goes next! Here we go with the second episode!**

**(If you have already read this chapter, I just want to say that I made a couple mistakes when writing this. I have fixed said mistakes. Enjoy.)**

"Last time on Total Drama: Pahkitew's Vengeance! We got see how the new cast builds their mighty castles, only to watch them come crashing down! Eduardo the EMO kid was sent packing as he preferred to just say "Whatever" instead of helping his team not get crushed. This season we came across some very super powered teens, like Micheal the Watch Bearer, who managed to completely obliterate the Extreme Eagles fortress in the Capture the Fort challenge!"

"Will he prove useful yet again in this weeks challenge? Or will he be able to drive everyone _bananas_?" Chris joked as a large gorilla wearing a red and silver collar suddenly appeared next to him, pounding his chest and roaring. Chris coolly pulled out a remote and clicked it, opening a trap door under the gorilla's feet and sending him into the lake below. "Camera _hog_" Chris joked, laughing at his own horrible comedy.

"Who will win? Who will live? Who will be shoved into the Torpedo of Shame next? Next, on Total! Drama! Pahkitew's Vengeance!"

_**Theme Song Plays**_

The sun slowly rose into the sky, shining its warm rays of light through the forest of Pahkitew Island. Birds sang their morning songs with cheer, one of them alighting onto the window sill of a certain tree house that sheltered 7 sleeping contestants. One such contestant blinked open her eyes and yawned, stretching her arms and cracking her back before climbing out of bed. Humming quietly to herself so as not to wake the others, she tip toed across the floor and grabbed an old towel from the sink, climbed down the rope ladder, and headed off into the woods.

Since Chris had been too cheap to buy anything useful for the season, the contestants had no choice but to shower and use the bathroom in the woods (though not necessarily in the same place). Zelda hummed a bit louder as she walked deeper into the forest, heading towards a small pool toward the Western part of island with a cool waterfall and stream that eddied into the surrounding lake. Little did she know that someone was following her, stalking their ways through the trees out of her line of sight.

Once she reached the small pond, barely avoiding Fang on the way there, she stripped off her sleep wear and waded into the water all the way up to the waterfall where the spray covered her naked form. She began to sing quietly to herself as she soaked her hair, completely unaware that a pair of blue eyes were watching her. The stalker crept silently through the brush, being extremely careful not to step on any stray twig, lest he give away his position.

Zelda was just about to get out of the pond when she heard a splash to her left. She cracked open an eye, expecting to see an animal of some sort, something like a duck or beaver, but saw nothing. She shrugged her shoulders and went back to her shower, oblivious to the figure moving beneath the surface of the pond toward her. A rippling noise met Zelda's ears and she looked around, once again finding nothing unusual. A couple minutes later Zelda was sure she heard another splash, accompanied by heavy breathing, as if the thing stalking her was a mere 2 feet away.

That was when she was noticed the blonde covered ball sitting on a pile or orange cloth.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Zelda screamed, covering her most private parts as Alan moved through the water towards, a sort of disturbing, hungry look in his eye. Zelda continued to scream, throwing water at him in the hopes that it would forestall him in coming closer. Alan merely moved under the water to avoid the barrage of water, causing Zelda to scream even more, tears already start to form in her eyes.

"Please! Just leave me alone!" she begged moving behind the waterfall.

Alan merely smiled wickedly and crept forward. "C'mon, Beauty. Let's see what you're hiding."

Zelda screamed even more picking up a nearby branch, fully prepared to smack Alan over the head with it and hopefully give him some brain trauma. She raised the branch up and was braced to hit over the head when he grabbed the stick and flung it back over her shoulder. Zelda was now all the way backed up against the rock face behind the waterfall, still covering her nether regions and breasts. Just when it looked like Alan was gonna get what he wanted, her a flash of red light, turning the water a crimson pinkish color. Alan completely ignored, he was so close to his quarry. Zelda however, knew what that familiar red flash meant.

"Any last words before we begin?" Alan growled, a creepy smile on his face.

"Yes; Say hello to a little friend of mine." she smiled evilly.

Alan raised an eyebrow in confusion, but shrugged it off. Just as he was about to ravish Zelda's body, he was suddenly yanked back through the waterfall, his screams echoing across the island. Zelda crept to the waterfall and peered through to see a 4.5 metric ton _Stegosaurus _standing up to its knees in the body. Its spiked tail was hooked on Alan's orange hoodie, and it was whipping him back and forth like a rag doll, smacking its tail – and Alan – on the ground, much to Zelda's sick pleasure. The Piece de Resistance was when the _Stegosaurus _gave a twirl of its tail and sent Alan flying clear across the island with ease. The dinosaur grunted with satisfaction as it watched Alan sailing through the air.

"That's gonna hurt on landing." Zelda laughed. The _Stegosaurus _bellowed its agreement, and a flash of light later, was gone. "You okay?" Micheal asked her, his back to her.

"Yeah, I'm okay." she told him.

"He didn't touch you anything?"

Zelda shook her head. "Nah. He was pretty close though, until you came in and kicked his butt."

"Good. If he comes back, just give a shout, okay?" Micheal said, an evil grin forming on his face.

Zelda blushed and waved him off before disappearing back behind the waterfall.

_**Confessional**_

"Man, that was close." Zelda sighed with relief. "Next time that little prick comes near me . . ." she trailed off. "Thank goodness for that Animatrix of Micheal's."

_**Change Confessional**_

"I'll admit, that felt good." Micheal smiled. "I've been meaning to have a word with that little moron the moment he set foot on the island. Next time he tries that, he's gonna wish he never met me."

_**Change Confessional**_

"Note to self," Alan moaned. "Do not get on Micheal and/or Zelda's bad side."

_**End Confessional**_

"I can't believe we lost!" Maurananei yelled.

"Well, to be fair, they _did _use an elephant to beat us." Caroline coughed, her condition not any better than from a few days ago. Whenever she coughed or talked for that matter, it felt like her insides were going to come marching out on her tongue. "Yeah, but that should be illegal!" Maurananei aargued.

"We used flaming arrows, bazookas, mines, and pyrotechnics against them." Mitchell stated as he doodled with a stick in the dirt. "Using an elephant to destroy our house is just as fair."

Maurananei grumbled and folded her arms, admitting defeat. "What do you think the next challenge is?" she asked. Mitchell shrugged his shoulders and Caroline coughed. Trey sat up on a boulder, tuning his guitar. "I dunno, man. Probably something that's gonna kill us." Maurananei frowned. "As if that's any help at all."

"WOOOOAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

Maurananei glanced up to see a small, stuffed dummy wearing an orange hoodie and large glasses come flying through the air at a break neck pace. Upon closer inspection, it revealed to be Alan, his face a deep shade of purple and his arm twisted at an unnatural angle. Maurananei quickly jumped and stumbled around for a few seconds with her arms up before Alan crashed landed into her arms, knocking both of them to the dirt. "Thanks . . ." Alan moaned as he sat up on top of Maurananei, his hands unconsciously on her breasts.

"You have three seconds to get your grubby hands off of me before I send you flying back to wherever you just came." she growled, throwing an dark glare at Alan. The small boy quickly retreated and cowered behind a rock, having seen his life just flash before his eyes like a silent movie. Maurananei glared after him and picked herself up, dusting off dirt and leaves. "Where's Hade's Daughter?" Maurananei asked, looking around the dark, dank cave they called home. After their first structure had been destroyed, the Extreme Eagles had relocated to a nearby cave, most possibly used by the previous contestants of Pahkitew Island.

"I'm up here!" Mortisha's echoed through the cave, drawing everyone's eyes to the roof of the formation to see Mortisha hanging by her feet with her cloaked draped over her like a vampire. All around were hundreds upon thousands of bats, all chattering and squeaking away. How no one noticed them in the first place was anyone's guess. "How'd you get up there?" Trey asked her. Mortisha merely shrugged and jumped down to the floor of the cave with ease, landing on her hands and pushing up so that she did a flip before landing on her feet. "Ahhh, reminds me of the bat colonies beneath our house." she sighed as a couple bats flew by. Everyone else ducked as the winged animals flapped past them so close you could practically feel their fur.

"Just what kind of house do you live in?" Mitchell asked her. Mortisha shrugged and began to list off features of her home that included (but not limited too) a personal graveyard, a private swamp complete with quicksand, a dungeon in the basement that led to the sewers, and an assortment of unusal and dangerous pets. "You seriously own 11 venomous snakes?" Maurananei asked her. "_And _you routinely shoot your brother out of a cannon?"

_**Confessional**_

"Okay, I've seen some pretty big freaks in my life." Maurananei said. "But she is the biggest one of all! Well, except for Izzy. That girl is more than a few sandwiches shy of a picnic." she said, shivering at the thought of Izzy suddenly appearing.

_**End Confessional**_

"Attention fresh meat!" Chris's voice yelled over the loud speakers. "Meet me at the beach in 10 minutes! Oh, and bring your bathing suits, too!"

"Great. On the bright side, we still have our luggage." Maurananei grumbled, moving toward the back of the cave to where a pile of suitcases and bags lay scattered about. She knelt down to open a dark green suitcase with three red claw marks painted on the front. She opened it up and pulled out a two piece, purple bikini and white flip flops, and walked out of the cave to change. She was soon joined by the other girls, and a quick death glare at Alan, they were all dressed and ready to get wet.

* * *

><p>"Today's challenge is all about using all your other senses other than your eyes," Chris announced to the swimming wear clad teens. "Part 1 of the challenge is to find a key, using any other sense than your peepers! The key is hidden at the bottom of the lake, among several other keys that are completely useless. Each team will send in one player at a time, but each contestant <em>must <em>go in at least _once. _Once you have a key, climb back onto the dock and run over to the treasure chest over yonder," said the host with his trademark grin, pointing to a large treasure chest on top of one of the island's 1,000 ft tall cliffs. "When one team finds the right key, they will get a leg up in the next challenge!" Chris announced with excitement. "What's the catch?" Alex asked, suspicion all over his face. The same feeling was soon on all the other contestants faces. "What? Me add some unexpected and most likely deadly twist to the game?" Chris asked in mock hurt. The players glares only deepened. "Fine. Way to spoil the surprise," Chris whined. "To keep things interesting, we have brought back the classic nemesis's of the cast of Total Drama: the freshwater man-eating sharks!" Everyone moaned and complained.

WWWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNKKKKKKKK!

Everyone covered their ears as Chris used his air horn to silence them. "ZIP IT!" he roared. "Your challenge begins . . . . . NOW!" he announced, sounding off the air horn for a second time. Everyone quickly ran to the end of the dock, both Trey from the Extreme Eagles and Alex from the Rampaging Rhinos diving into the water to begin their search. "We got this one in the bag," Kiko smiled. "Alex is a surfer, and Micheal can just turn into a dolphin or something!" The Rhinos cheered, their victory assured. "Oh, yeah! I forgot to mention that I'm allowing Micheal only **3** transformations for the entire challenge!" Chris announced as he climbed up into a lifeguard chair to watch. The Rhinos groaned. Just then, Alex came up with a key shaped like a skull. He quickly ran off the docks and through the forest, skillfully avoiding several logs and rocks that appeared in his way, before running up the cliff, making it to the top 10 minutes later. "Who's next?" Kiko asked.

"How about Micheal?" Zelda suggested. "No!" Toni cried. "Even if he turns into an animal that can find the keys, we won't know if it's the right key!" Everyone's faces fell, and Anuok walked to the end of the dock and dove in, disappearing beneath the surface of the water. The silent girl swam through the murky water of the lake, swimming past schools of fish and cranky crabs that sat on the lake bottom. Several keys glinted in the sunlight that shone through the water, catching Anuok's eye. She quickly decided on a key and began to swim to the surface, low on oxygen. She was almost there when she saw something out of the corner of her vision. It was a shark!

Anuok screamed a silent yell and swam in the opposite direction hoping to ditch the shark in the process, but it was hopeless. No matter where she went, through caves, through seaweed, even through a sunken ship, the beast was still behind her and closing. Just when she thought she was going to pass out from lack of oxygen and become a shark's mid morning snack, there was a flash of light overhead and she felt something else enter the water. She was barely even thinking as she suddenly appeared on the surface, her skin pale as she gasped for breath. She blinked her eyes, forcing the water of them and looked around. On the shore was her team, cheering. Chris and the Extreme Eagles were just staring at something behind her, slack jawed. Anuok dared a peek behind her to see a 23 ton _Spinosaurus _behind her, its long jaws dipped in the water. Anuok didn't question the sudden appearance of the beast and quickly swam to shore, pulled herself up onto the dock, and began running to the chest.

"Yeah! Get em, Micheal!" Toni yelled as the _Spinosaurus _suddenly drew to its full height of 27 ft with the shark that tried to eat Anuok flopping around in its mouth. _Spinosaurus _gave a sudden movement of his head, and the shark slipped closer to going down his massive throat. "Noooo!" Chris yelled in desperation, jumping off his lifeguard chair and onto his knees, clasping his hands together tightly. "Please! Don't do it!" he begged. The dinosaur seem to consider the tiny human that was before him for a moment before it twisted its head to the side and back, letting the shark go from its mouth as it did. The carnivorous fish flew the air and off into the distance, safely out of the danger of being eaten. The _Spinosaurus_ roared and stalked back onto the shore, every step it took shaking the island. Chris breathed a sigh of relief and climbed back into his lifeguard chair, trying to pretend that he hadn't just begged one of the contestants not to do something. Everyone else snickered as Micheal, still in _Spinosaurus _form, stalked back behind his team., covering all of them in his shadow.

"That's one transformation down!" Chris announced. "Choose your next one wisely!" The dinosaur glared at him and growled, sending shivers down Chris's spine. "Where do you even get dinosaur DNA?" Zelda asked Micheal. "The Dinosauria family went extinct 65 million years ago!" The _Spinosaurus _shrugged its large arms in a human like fashion. Zelda was about to ask more when Anuok came running out of the woods, with a ticked look on her face. Just as she slapped Micheal's ankle, signaling for his turn, Trey jumped out of the water and began running for the trees.

_**Confessional**_

"Other than having my own band, I'm also on the swim team," said Trey as he tuned his guitar. "Mostly because I can hold my breath for a long time. Guess I must have large lungs or something. Which would also explain my sonic yells, now that I think about it." the musician said as he put two and two together.

_**End Confessional**_

With a tremendous splash that soaked everyone to the bone the _Spinosaurus _entered the water, its large sail stick up out of the water like a giant fin. The sail moved about for a few minutes for the the dinosaur resurfaced with a key between its lips. "Great," Kiko sighed. "How's he supposed to open the chest when he's the size of a train and doesn't have any thumbs?" "Chris, can one of us go with Micheal to help him open the chest?" Toni asked. "Hmmm. Let me think . . . . . NO!" Chris yelled with a wicked laugh afterward. Everyone glared at him, Micheal growling menacingly. "You know Chris, Micheal could just _eat _you if he wanted to. Chef wouldn't be able to do anything to stop him from doing so." Zelda said, an evil grin crossing her face. Chris's face paled silently, and he quickly sent Micheal on his way, with Zelda on his back.

The duo tromped through the forest at a fast pace before making their way up the cliff side, thankful that they didn't have to do it from the _other _side, with it's sheer 1001 ft drop. As they stomped up the hill, a loud BANG! went off to Micheal's right, and sudden wave of heat nearly sent them tumbling. "AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Zelda cried as Micheal swerved through the now numberous explosions on the hill.

"Let me guess . . . . you had some left over mines and you hate to waste some good pyrotechnics." said Kiko with a wicked smile on her face. "You know it!" Chris chuckled as Zelda's screams and Micheal's roars echoed across the island. As the rest of the Rhinos glanced nervously at each other, Trey came running back from the woods and slapped Maurananei's waiting hand. She quickly dove into the water and began to search for a key, using her hands mostly to try and find it. Quickly located one hooked around the bony finger of a skeleton wearing an intern's shirt and swam upward. A sudden movement to her left and she suddenly thrust her fist forward, socking the shark in the nose, stunning it for a few seconds. She quickly resurfaced and climbed onto the dock as a charred Micheal and Zelda returned to the dock. "Your turn, Kiko." Micheal coughed as his watch changed him back to his human form. Kiko rolled her eyes and planted her feet firmly on the dock. "I had to slog through a mosquito filled, gator crawling swamp stocked to the brim with slime last challenge!" she growled. "There is no way I'm diving head first into a leech filled, shark infested lake with the infamous Chris McClain as our lifeguard." Everyone glared at her. "You have got to be kidding me." Micheal said, pitching his brow. "I just ran up a 1001 ft tall cliff with Zelda on my back, through exploding mines layed out by a mad man, and you're telling me that you aren't diving into a simple hole filled with water!?" he roared. Kiko huffed and turned her back away from her team. 10 seconds later, Kiko found herself at the bottom of the lake, with Micheal, Alex and Reese dusting off their hands in satisfaction.

_**Confessional**_

"That was actually kind of theraputic," Toni sighed. "The girl's started to grind my nerves for a while now. Last night she 'accidentally' dropped a soda can full of fire ants into my bean bag chair in the Hangout of Awesomeness last night. Couldn't stop scratching my butt all night!"

_**Change Confessional**_

"Did I just seriously miss Kiko getting dunk in the drink!?" Maurananei pouted, until a smile crossed her face. She quickly got up and posed a sexy pose in front of the camera. "Do you like what you see Chefy Wefy? I could show you even more if you want . . ." she said, slowly untying the straps of her bikini. The camera quickly flashed out before Maurananei could take anything else off.

_**End Confessional**_

Growling and cursing under her breath, Kiko dove beneath the lake and resurfaced a few seconds later with a key shaped like Chris's face. "Please tell me that the key with your ugly mug on it isn't the one we're looking for." said Kiko. Chris merely grinned, but the wild look in his eye and scary smile he gave said it all. Kiko shuddered and ran through the woods with the key in hand as Maurananei returned. "Kiko has the winning key!" Caroline cried.

"Who told you!?" Chris demanded. Everyone gave him a 'you can't be serious' look before all running after Kiko, the Eagles determined to steal the key and Rhinos determined to defend it. Micheal reached for his watch and was about to hit the activation button when Zelda's hand quickly snapped to Micheal's wrist. "We need to save up those transformations." she told his confused look. The duo quickly followed their team and tackled Maurananei to the ground just as she was about to grab Kiko's foot. "Get off of me, weaklings!" she hissed, pushing Micheal off of her, but not before he socked her in the jaw, a slight sign of remorse in his eyes. Maurananei however, didn't catch it and roared like a bear before pouncing on Micheal.

_**Confessional**_

Micheal sat on the confessional toilet, trying not to pass out from the wretched smell. "I don't like to punch girls," he said, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. "If it's a villianess trying to take over the world with giant robot monkeys, sure, I'll punch her lights out. Any other girl? No. Unless they _really _set me over the edge." Micheal said, thinking of such an incident.

_**End Confessional**_

The rest of the group rushed past the brawling Zelda, Micheal, and Maurananei as Kiko began her run up the cliff, her cheeks flushed red. "And it looks like both teams are doing anything they possibly can to keep the other from reaching the top of the cliff! Anything's legal! Except death! Don't want to be responsible for anything not worth suing for." Chris chuckled nervously as he watched the teens beat the crap out of each other. Trey began to play another rock solo on his guitar, briefly drawing the Rhino's attention until a pressure point between his neck and ear was pressed by Anuok, slipping him into unconsciousness. Toni was soon kept busy by a flame throwing Mitchell, and Reese was literally thrown out of the battle by a giddy Mortisha, who seemed to love beating the tar out of him. The Rhinos cast pitied glances as they past him and Mortisha, with the later, force feeding him mushrooms freshly torn off of a pine tree. Alex was soon engaged in a slap fight with Alan as Anuok and Caroline squared off. Caroline tried to look frightening, but was soon sent into a retreat by a far more intimidating Anuok. Caroline screamed as Anuok ran after her, determination in her eye.

_**Confessional**_

"Yeah, pretty much anything physical I can't do," Caroline says. "Unless you count running, climbing, and lifting heavy animals. One time, I lifted a full grown horse over my head! Take that, Rodney!" she yells at the camera, referring to last season's 'ladies man'.

_**End Confessional**_

"Attention, dorks of all shapes and sizes!" Chris yelled into his megaphone. "As much as I like to see you all suffer, and at the hands of each other no less, but Kiko has already won the challenge for the Rampaging Rhinos!" The Rhinos cheered as Kiko stood triumphantly on top of the treasure in her white bikini. The Eagles groaned and cursed, ending their separate battles and grouping together into their teams. "Meet in 15 minutes at the junk pile from last challenge." Chris instructed to them. "Wait!" Zelda cried, nursing a black eye from her battle with Maurananei. Micheal had received a bruised arm and several cuts in the scuffle, and Maurananei had walked away with only a bruise on her forehead.

"What's our prize!?" she ordered. Chris glared at her. "You'll find out in the next challenge. That is, if you're up for it." he told her, laughing manically at the end and drawing looks of worry and fear from the contestants.

* * *

><p>"Tell me why we're still in our bathing suits!?" Maurananei whined. "Not that I'm complaining much." she added when she saw Chef, sending shivers down his spine. Chris sighed and continued on. "Anyway, your next challenge is to hunt for the most dangerous, most elusive, more freakish animal known to man!" Chris said with hatred in his eyes. "His name? Ezekiel!" Everyone gasped. "Didn't get blown up with the island in season 5?" Kiko demanded. "Sadly, he didn't." Chris growled. "Instead, he somehow ended up here and has been stalking me ever since last season. You lucky teens get to go out into the woods with nothing but your bathing suits, and hunt him down!" Everyone immediately began to whine and complain until Chris blew his air horn for the 3rd time. "Zip it! Now, since the Rhinos won the last challenge, they get these nifty, automatic loading blasters filled with tranquilizer darts!" Chef tossed the Rhinos their weapons, Reese collapsing under the weight of his until Anuok took it for him with ease, earning a sigh from Reese. "The Eagles get these teeny tiny blasters from which they can only fire one dart at a time." The eagles groaned as they were tossed their weapons. "The last we saw of Zeke the Freak, he hiding somewhere in the woods," Chris said. "Be careful when you go in there, as the inhabitants might not want you there. Oh, and Chef placed about a bazillion booby traps to try and catch Zeke." The teams groaned once more before Chris blasted his air horn. "Man! Do I love this thing! Your challenge begins as soon as I fly to a safe distance away from this island. GO!" Chris yelled as he climbed into his personal helicopter manned by Chef. The craft flew up to a thousand feet above the island before Chris blasted the air horn through his megaphone.<p>

_**Confessional**_

"First chance I get, that air horn is going bye bye." Kiko growled.

_**End Confessional**_

"Eagles! This way!" Maurananei commanded as she clipped her blaster to a small belt around her waist. "And try to avoid any traps!" The Eagles went for a solid 10 minutes before they had to stop and rescue Alan from a snare trap that pulled him up a dozen feet and left him hanging there. One could almost here Chef and Chris laughing. Maurananei growled and gave the tree Alan was strung up in a solid punch before Alan came crashing down, moaning his thanks into a pile of wet leaves. As Mortisha and Trey helped him up, a small bluebird landed on Caroline's shoulder and began to sing its sweet song. Caroline smiled. "What's that? You've seen Ezekiel?"

The bird tweeted before flying off. Caroline smiled again as Maurananei starred at her flabbergasted. "Can you seriously talk to animals?" she asked the small girl. Caroline nodded with a broad smile on her face. "Mr. Sweetywings said that Ezekiel was over by the beaver dam, bullying the poor beavers."

_**Confessional**_

"Am I seriously the only one who doesn't have super powers around here!?" Maurananei howled angrily. "There's Mitchell the Living Barbecue, Micheal the One Man Zoo, Trey the Sound Barrier Breaking Rockstar, and now Caroline the Female Dr. Doolittle!"

_**End Confessional**_

"C'mon, Micheal! Turn into a dog or something! Maybe you can pick up Zeke's scent!" Kiko coaxed the watch wearing teen. Micheal shook his head. "I've only got 2 more transformations left. We need to save those up. And I seriously do not want to smell Zeke. When was the last time you think he took a bath?" he said, sending shivers down everyone's spine. "Point taken." Kiko agreed, not pushing the matter any further. However, one could almost see the envy in her eyes as she eyed the powerful device that resided on Micheal's wrist.

_**Confessional**_

"I've got to get my hands on that watch," Kiko said, pounding her fist in her hand for emphasis. "Fortunately, I know a little pink genius who owes me a favor. Micheal will never suspect a thing." she said with a devilish look in her eye.

_**Change Confessional**_

"Something about Kiko bothers me," stated Toni. "The way she's been eying everyone like their plump gazelles for the taking. Trust me. I would know." she said as her eyes suddenly became golden colored and cat like. In the length of a second, their back to their hazel color, making you think you might have been imagining it, as if it were never there.

_**End Confessional**_

"What does this Ezekiel look like anyway?" Reese asked Anuok. She quickly pulled out her notepad and began to furiously draw on it as the others looked over her shoulder. "Wait, Anuok. He had less hair on his head, and sharper claws." Alex noted. Anuok nodded her head and added the features to her drawing before showing Reese the picture. And what he saw frightened him.

It was a drawing of a boy of medium height with sickish, pale skin. He had only a few strands of wiry, greasy hair left on his head, and he sat on his haunches with his hands on the ground, like a front pair of legs. He was still dressed in his jeans and sweatshirt, which were ripped and covered in stains from who knows what. His bare feet and hands were deformed and had razor sharp claws at the ends. His teeth were sharper, and bits of toxic saliva that ate away at the ground beneath his feet dripped from his mouth, with a wild and crazed look in his eyes. Reese screamed and dived behind a bush. "Chicken." Kiko said as she pulled him out. He was soon back on his feet and reaching for his blaster when he saw a pair of eyes watching him, yellow and catlike in appearance.

"RUN!" Reese yelled as Ezekiel jumped out from his hiding place in a oak tree. Everyone panicked and ran in the opposite direction as Ezekiel chased after them, snarling. It was only after he had chased them into a dark cave did they remember that they were supposed to be chasing _him._"Get him!" Kiko commanded, leveling her blaster at Ezekiel. The mutant teen paused and sniffed them curiously before jumping out of the way as a dart was suddenly shot at him. The dart embedded itself into a tree as Ezekiel jumped into the treetops and disappeared in a shower of leaves. "Alex!" everyone yelled angrily. "Sorry." he apologized, lowering his blaster. Everyone threw a glare at him as they left the cave and wandered through the forest again, forming a tight ring with Reese in the middle, Anuok, Alex, and Kiko pointed toward the front, and Zelda, Micheal, and Toni at the back. "Why am I in the middle?" Reese whined.

"Because you can't carry your blaster and Ezekiel scares the crap out of you." Toni answered.

"Fair point. Continue being my human shield." Reese squeaked, ducking down into the middle of the crowd. "Wait. Human shield!?" Kiko exclaimed. "Nah-ah. No way. If anyone's going to be shielded, it's gonna be me!" Kiko yelled, pulling Reese from the middle and shoving him into his spot. "Hey what are you – " Reese said just before a heavy bag of sand fell from the sky and landed onto Kiko's head. "Ow . . . . ." she groaned.

"Thank you, Karma." Reese said, folding his hands together.

* * *

><p>"You said he was here. Why is he not here!?" Maurananei roared at Caroline. Caroline was cowering on the ground as Maurananei yelled at her. The others were searching around the area for signs of their quarry; tracks, saliva, trampled brush, etc. "Maybe I could ask the beavers?" Caroline squeaked. Maurananei glared at her before stiffly nodding. Caroline breathed a sigh of relief and dove into the river, swimming toward the beaver lodge, silently thanking Chris for forcing her to stay in her yellow one piece. She was gone for a few minutes before she came back and crawled up onto the bank.<p>

"Well?"

"They said he was heading toward the Northern end of the island last they saw of him." Caroline coughed. "They also asked us to kick his butt."

"With pleasure." Maurananei grinned evilly, cracking her knuckles. She ran off into the woods northwards, leaving her team behind. "Should we, uh, follow her?" Mortisha asked, pointing her blaster after Maurananei. The team thought it over before heading in the opposite direction, leaving Maurananei to chase the beaver's theory alone. The group of 6 teens stalked through the forest, flinching at every leaf and twig that snapped. They knew exactly how dangerous Ezekiel was. They had all seen the 100th episode that had taken place on Wawanakwa. And while they had all enjoyed watching Chris being dangled over a pot of boiling toxic waste, it didn't make it any less terrifying. The group would stop every now and then so Caroline could ask directions from unfortunate animals that had encountered Ezekiel.

There he is!" Alan yelled, pointing to a small lump that moved behind a bush, snarling and hissing. Before anyone could do anything, he lowered his small water gun like blaster and shot three darts at the lump, each containing enough tranquilizer to fell a beagle. Each struck with aimed precision, and Alan gave a small victory dance. Unfortunately, it wasn't Ezekiel. "SASQUATCHANAKWA!" Trey screeched, belting out on his guitar. The attack had no affect on the large ape man however, and the Extreme Eagles were forced to flee as Sasquatchanakwa them through the woods, roaring and pounding his chest like a gorilla. "Why does this keep happening to us!?" Caroline cried.

Meanwhile, Maurananei _had _encountered Ezekiel, and was currently chasing him through the woods while dodging what she hoped to god was mud. The little freak was hurling the wet globs at her with precision aim, hitting her everywhere. Soon we covered in a thick, brown layer of the stuff. "When I get my hands on you, you little monster, I swear I'm gonna wring your scrawny neck!" she roared. Ezekiel merely laughed at her from the safety of the trees, throwing another ball of the sludge at her. "RAAAAGGH!" she roared as she began to climb the tree Ezekiel was in. "That's it! No more Mrs. Nice Girl!" she roared as she clambered onto the limb Ezekiel was on. The little mutant jumped from the branch to the next of another tree just as three darts hit the tree where he had been seconds before.

* * *

><p>"Do we <em>have <em>to carry her with us?" Toni growled. "Her snoring is driving me crazy!"

"And she's drooling!" Alex added.

Kiko, unfortunately, hadn't woken up from her accident earlier and was still as of late, out cold. So both Toni and Micheal had to pitch in to carry her, with Micheal holding her feet up, and Toni carrying her shoulders. "I mean, sure she's a grown woman and all, but she ways a ton!" Toni hissed. "Lets just hope we don't get into anymore traps again." Micheal grunted.

"Well, if you used that watch of yours . . . ." Toni trailed off. Micheal sighed and gave in. They weren't making any progress with Kiko out of the game. And who knows? Whatever the watch might give, might actually help them in their hunt for Zeke the Freak. The duo propped Kiko's body up on a stump to allow Micheal to access his watch. Seconds later, a red flash engulfed him and a large creature stepped out. The being was at least 12 ft tall and was covered in tough, red skin. 4, large, muscled arms hung down from his hard-as-rock sides as he stood on two powerful legs. He wore black shorts similar to Micheal's black swim trunks and a white and red shirt similar to the one Micheal had been wearing before his transformation. Four golden eyes sat on the front of his noseless face as a large, short beard and mustache covered his lower jaw. "That's new." Zelda commented as everyone starred at him in shock.

"Yes!" the large alien cheered. "I love this guy!"

"Can he carry Kiko?" Toni asked. The alien nodded and hefted the woman over his shoulder with ease. He picked up his blaster and strapped his over his back. "Can you also carry my blaster?" Reese wheezed. Micheal nodded his head and picked up the weapon in his hand and loaded it, ready to shoot at a moments notice. "Yes! With this hulking mass of muscles and bones, we have a much more substantial chance of catching Ezekiel sooner than the Eagles will!" Zelda shouted. The others cheered and grabbed their weapons. Anuok scribbled something on her notepad and handed it to Reese to read. "Anuok wants to know if you can do anything else to help us." he said to Micheal. The large alien thought over for a moment before snapping his fingers. "Oh, yeah! Nisilaha are awesome trackers, some of the best hunters in the galaxy!" he exclaimed. He quickly got down to his knees before sniffing the ground and pointing East. "That way. I can smell the little vermin from a mile away."

The team ran in the direction that Micheal had indicated, Micheal running ahead to make sure they were still on the trail, more than once "accidentally" hitting Kiko's head against a tree branch. He was sure she was going to wake up with one killer headache. _If _she woke up. "Do you hear something?" Alex stopped, the rest of the group stopping as well. "It sounds like someone screaming . . . ." Zelda said just as the Extreme Eagles came running out of a stand of trees as if their butts were on fire. Both teams collided and fell to the ground. "What is wrong with you guys? Can't you see where you're going!?" Toni yelled as she rubbed her sore head. Kiko had gone flying from Micheal's grasp and landed in a tree upside, still asleep.

"Running . . . . . Sasquatchanakwa . . . ." Caroline said.

"What's a Sasquatchanakwa?" Micheal asked as he stood up and strapped both of his blasters back onto his back. His question was soon answered when the giant ape came crashing through the forest with a log raised over its head, ready to swat the pesky contestants like the flies they were. "Quick! Everyone behind me!" Micheal yelled. No questioned as they all crowded behind the Nisilaha. The Sasquatchanakwa raised its log a little higher before swinging down, expecting to hit the strange being before him on the head and watch it fall to the ground. Before he could make contact, Micheal grabbed the log in one hand and ripped it out of the ape's grasp as he punched it in the face, sending it flying back into a tree. He yelled a battle cry and charged at it, all 4 arms raised up and clenched into fists. The Sasquatchanakwa growled and butted its head into Micheal's gut, stopping him cold as he knocked the air out of him.

The yeti roared and tackled the Nisilaha to the ground as both were prepared to fight a battle to the death. "Go!" Micheal yelled to his team. "I'll catch up once I'm done with Banana Breath here!" The Rhinos quickly ran off while the Eagles sat there, stunned.

* * *

><p>"Come here, you little monster!" Maurananei yelled as she jumped from branch to branch, copying Ezekiel's game. She had been chasing the little hooligan for what felt like hours upon hours, but were at the most only adding up to a half hour. As much as Maurananei hated to admit it, Ezekiel was beginning to impress her. He had alluded Chris and Chef's grasp for more than 6 seasons. And while he had been captured twice in season 3, he just kept on coming back for more, in the famed words of Chris McClain, "like a one man cockroach infestation". That meant she was going to have to use every trick she had picked up while she was on the streets.<p>

Suddenly, the branch broke beneath her! Screaming, she plunged to the forest floor and landed on a wet pile of leaves. She groaned and began to pick herself up when the ground beneath gave out, plunging her once more to her doom. She landed a few seconds later at the bottom of a pit, filled with the wet leaves from above and sharp very uncomfortable rocks. She glanced around her and noticed several sharpened stakes in the ground, ready to skewer anything that fell in. "Good thing I missed those." she said quietly to herself.

"Really? Stakes at the bottom of a pit trap?" Chris asked Chef. "Isn't that just a lawsuit waiting to happen?" Chef shrugged his shoulders before both of them burst into laughter. "CHRIS! Get me outta here!" she bellowed, pounding on the walls of the pit with enough force to send rocks and dirt falling down. If Chris heard (or cared) he didn't show it. Maurananei stopped hitting the walls to study the pit for a minute. The pit was at least 10 ft deep, more than twice her height. There was nothing in the pit she could use to get back up; the stakes were too old and rotten to support her weight if she used them, and there was nothing else long enough to reach the top. "Hello?" she called out. "Anybody? Caroline? Trey? Mitchell? Chef? Mortisha? I'll even take someone from the Rhinos!" No one answered as she sighed and curled up on the bottom of the pit, little hope left. "Guess I'll just wait here until they come find me." she said to herself.

"Do you _(pant) _really think we _(pant) _should of _(pant) _left Micheal back there?" Reese wheezed as the team ran along. They had been running nonstop for what seemed to be an hour at the most, putting as much distance as they could between them and the angry Sasquatchanakwa. "I think _(pant) _Micheal will be _(pant) _fine." Toni gasped. "Lets rest for a minute." As soon as she said that, the team collasped to the ground, too exhausted to go any further.

"Agh!" Reese cried out after a few minutes. "I think I sat on poison ivy! Oh, _why _did Chris make us stay in our bathing suits!" he cried, scratching his bare skin raw. While everyone watched in pity as Reese used a pine cone to scratch his armpits, Anuok quietly began her climb up into a tree and crawled out onto a thick limb before assuming the lotus position. She closed her eyes, and breathed calmly, pushing out the noise of her team mates below. Her mind began to clear and she could see an image forming in her mind. It was of a large, red behemoth dusting of his hands in satisfaction before walking into the woods, in the direction she and her team had ran.

She breathed a sigh of relief. _So he's okay, _she thought. _Good. If my predictions are correct, we'll need him at a later date. _She pushed past the picture and looked deeper in her mind and saw a picture of Fang, the Laser Eye Starfish, and several other species of marine life all laughing and pointing at something, a loud wailing being heard over their laughter. Anuok smiled and pushed the image aside to look even deeper into the future. What she saw next shocked her. Down at the bottom of deep, dark, pit was Maurananei curled up into a ball as the light faded overhead and the moon and stars came out. She peered closer, and saw thin streams of tears coming from her eyes, flowing over her scar. On the pit wall next to her were 5 tally marks, signaling how long she had been there. Anuok gasped and her eyes flashed open, causing her to lose her balance and fall out of the tree and into the arms of an approaching Micheal. She landed with a dull THWACK! and blinked her eyes for a second before shaking her head. Micheal set her on the ground as she quickly made a series of rapid hand gestures.

"Does anybody understand that?" Alex asked. Zelda moved forward and asked Anuok to repeat what she was trying to say once more. "Anuok says that we have to go rescue Maurananei. She's trapped at the bottom of a deep pit and there isn't anyway out." she translated for the silent girl. Anuok gave a thumbs up to confirm what she had said to be true. "Why should we help her?" Toni asked. "She's an Eagle, for crying out loud!" Most of the team nodded their heads in agreement. "But should we really leave her to suffer? Anuok said she was trapped down there for 5 days." Zelda argued. The team shifted uncomfortably. Zelda sighed. "Fine. We split up; a few of us go rescue Maurananei, and the others go hunt down Ezekiel, okay?" The team agreed quickly and split up, with Micheal, Toni, Alex, and Reese going off to find Ezekiel. Anuok, Zelda, and a still unconscious Kiko would go after Maurananei. "So, where exactly do we go to find her?" Zelda asked the mute girl.

Anuok paused and closed her eyes for a few seconds before pointing off towards the North. Zelda and Anuok each quickly grabbed one of Kiko's legs and pulled her along like a sled through wet leaves, mud, and much more . . . . . disgusting . . . . . things. "She is gonna be _sooooooo_ mad when she wakes up." Zelda giggled. Anuok smiled.

* * *

><p>"Hello?" Maurananei called weakly for the hundredth time. "Anybody there?" She sighed after minutes of silence and lay down on the ground to rest. It was all she could do ever since she fallen down into the pit trap who-knows-how-long ago. "Maybe splitting off from my team wasn't such a good idea after all." she said quietly. "They're probably having the time of their lives without me around to scare the crap out of them."<p>

_**Confessional**_

"I have a . . . . hard time making friends," Maurananei sighed. "I guess my criminal nature doesn't exactly make me the friendly type."

_**Change Confessional**_

"Splitting up was probably the worst thing our team could have done." Caroline said. "Not only did we manage to anger a Sasquatchanakwa, but we aren't any closer to finding Zeke, and the animals – sweet and helpful as they are – aren't very good at directions. Oh, I wish Maurananei was still here. I owe her from helping last challenge." said Caroline, remembering how weak and helpless she felt. At least the other team was nice enough to drop her off with her own team after they destroyed their shelter. "Oh, Maurananei! Where are you!?"

_**End Confessional**_

Minutes after Maurananei had dozed off she heard a scuffling sound overhead and shot straight up. "Hello? Hello? Can anybody here me!? Please, help!" she yelled, waving her arms around. A figure appeared at the lip of the pit, and a dripping sound started to echo off the walls. "Wait, is that . . . . ?" she started but was interrupted by a savage snarl. "Ezekiel!" she yelled. The little mutant was the last person she want to see, but at the moment she was kind of desperate. "Look, I don't like you, and you don't like me, but you have to get me out of here!" she begged, dropping down to her hands and knees.

Ezekiel cocked and eyebrow and grunted in confusion.

"I'll do anything!" Maurananei cried. Ezekiel smiled and his eyes narrowed as he eyed her.

"Does that mean you'll help?" she asked, to which he nodded. "Great! Get me out of here, and I'll do whatever you want!"

Ezekiel held up a claw and twitched it back and forth. "No? What do you mean, no?" Maurananei roared. Ezekiel smiled playfully, showing his rows of teeth, before puckering his lips. Maurananei shivered at the thought of what he was suggesting.

"Fine. I'll kiss you." she stuttered. "But only as soon as you get me up to the edge! I give you a 5 seconds head start, and then your butt is mine!" Ezekiel snarled, signaling his agreement. He disappeared for a moment before returning with a dead pine tree in his jaws. The needles were long gone, and what remained was a maze of sharp sticks and branches that acted like a ladder. Ezekiel threw the tree down into the pit trunk first, and Maurananei began to climb, cursing as she was scratched by the sharp branches, until she made it to the top. Ezekiel sat in her way, and Maurananei knew she was going to have to go for her. She closed her eyes and puckered her lips, forcing herself to inch forward until she felt greasy, dirt covered skin. Maurananei immediately recoiled, spitting. She jumped over Ezekiel and ran towards the nearest river to wash her mouth out as the little hooligan roared and beat his chest like a gorilla in triumph, running after her like a wild beast.

_**Confessional**_

"Kissing him was the most revolting, disgusting, most hideous thing I have ever done! Worse than that time I was dared to lick a toilet seat!" Maurananei cried, spitting onto the confessional floor. "And the worst part is, my Chefy Wefy won't trust me again! I kissed another man behind his back!" she cried, tears streaming from her face. "No! Get it together, Maura!" she said to herself. "You'll just have to win Chef back!"

_**Change Confessional**_

"I can't believe she _kissed _him!" Micheal, in his Nisilaha form, bellowed. "I'm not one to use manipulation, or anything, but if someone was looking for something to use against Maurananei, that would be it.

_**Change Confessional**_

"Yeah, I saw Maurananei kiss the little freak," Alan admitted. "I ended up going in the wrong direction during the Sasquatchanakwa chase and saw the whole thing unfold." Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. "Maybe I can use this to my advantage." he said, rubbing his hands together manically.

_**End Confessional**_

"Wow. _That _was unexpected." Zelda noted as she saw the whole scene unfold before them. "Guess we don't have to rescue her after all." A moan caught their attention, and they turned to see Kiko's still form move. She blinked open her eyes and rubbed her head, which felt like it had taken the place of a drum at a rock concert. "Oh, my aching head," she moaned, standing up on wobbly legs. "What happened?"

"You received a server blow to your cranium that sent you into temporal cognitive state." Zelda explained, receiving an odd look from Kiko. "You got hit on the head by a bag of sand." Zelda explained with a heavy sigh. Kiko nodded her head. "How are we doing on the hunt for Zeke?" she asked, hoping against hope that her team had gotten somewhere. "Unfortunately, we haven't had much luck. We found Ezekiel once, but Alex scared him off before we could fire." Zelda told the woman. She gritted her teeth, resisting the urge to punch Zelda in the face, even though she had nothing to do with it. "He is so getting shot out of that submarine." Kiko growled as she walked into the woods. Zelda and Anuok ran to catch up with her, their blasters ready to fire. "You never know. Nobody's exactly happy for you being MIA for half the challenge." Kiko's eyes widened in worry before blinking back to normal. "We'll see about that." she said under her breath.

* * *

><p>"Did we <em>really <em>have to watch the fight?" Caroline asked.

"Duh! Of course we did!" Trey exclaimed. "Too bad we didn't bring any popcorn."

"Too bad that Sasquatchanakwa stole your guitar when you weren't looking." Mortisha giggled as she remembered the surprised look on his face when the yeti snatched the instrument from his grasp and fled into the forest before Micheal could do anything else to him.

"Don't remind me!"

"All I can say is, that Sasquatchanakwa's gonna need a _lot _of sunscreen." Mitchell laughed.

"I know! I always knew they were hairy, but I didn't think they had _that _much hair on them!" Mortisha smiled. She was finally making friends with her team mates, barely containing her excitement.

"_Had _being the key word." said Mitchell drawing laughs out of everyone except Caroline. The small girl was laughing along nervously, trying to sound like she had enjoyed watching the fight.

_**Confessional**_

"I don't like to fight." Caroline sighed. "There I said. Go ahead and laugh at me. It's just, I can't stand the thought of two innocent creatures fighting each other for no reason." She sighed again. "I mean I know Micheal did his best to try and not hurt the poor Sasquatchanakwa too much, but why does Chris love violence so much!?"

"**BECAUSE IT'S FUN TO WATCH!"** Chris's voice rang out from the speakers. Caroline sighed again. "There really is a lot of sighing on this show, isn't there?"

_**Change Confessional**_

"Look, I _know _maybe shaving the guy was a _bit _much." Micheal admitted, his 12 ft frame barely fitting in the outhouse confessional. "But it was the least damaging thing I could think of! I only did that for Caroline's fragile mental state. Girl needs some friends, and if she's ready, then I'm willing to listen to her troubles and then punch them in the face! Anybody who loves animals as much as she does is okay in my book."

_**End Confessional**_

Suddenly, something dropped out of the trees and landed on the ground with a sickening THUD! Everyone quickly loaded their small guns and aimed it at the figure, waiting for it to move. "Is it Ezekiel?" Mortisha asked. "Nah, it's too wimpy to be him." replied Mitchell. "That, and it's wearing a pair of red swim trunks." The figure groaned and raised a shaky hand to help itself up. "Alan? What were you doing up in that tree?" Mortisha asked the dizzy boy. Alan gave a quick shake of his head to clear his thoughts (and vision) before answering. "I, um, got separated in the, uh, Sasquatchanakwa attack. Ran up a tree for safety and fell out when I heard your voices."

Everyone seemed to buy the story and proceeded onward without question until they came across another shape in the middle of a clearing. The figure was hunched over a small, unidentifiable pile as it snarled and slobbered to itself, as if it were talking. "Sssssshhh." Mitchell signaled, drawing his blaster nice and slow. The others copied his movements, waiting until the signal. "How many darts do we have left?" Mitchell hissed so the figure wouldn't hear.

"One." "One."

"Uno." "Eins."

"Great. Just perfect." Mitchell grumbled. "Make every shot count, okay?" Everyone nodded their heads and as one stalked closer to their quarry, their fingers ready to snap back on the trigger. The figure didn't pay them any attention and continued concentrating on his small pile. "What is he even doing?" Trey whispered as they got within a couple yards of the beast. The thing's ears perked up and it quickly spun around to face them, growling like a dog. It was holding something between its teeth, and guarding something at its feet. "Is that what I think it is?" Caroline asked with a trembling lip, pointing toward the remains in his teeth.

"Yep." Mitchell said sadly. "It's exactly what you think it is."

"What's left of Maurananei; nothing but her flip flops and bikini." Mortisha said sadly. "If only I could have gotten in on some of the fun, the lucky girl." Everyone exchanged glances before leveling their guns at Maurananei's murderer.

"FOR MAURANANEI!" Mitchell roared. Everyone fired their darts at once before throwing their guns aside and throwing themselves at Ezekiel before he had anytime to react. A cloud of dust and dirt was picked in the scuffle as the contestants all punched, slapped, clawed, and beat Ezekiel to a pulp, while also trying to defend themselves from his blows. Mitchell quickly lit his fist ablaze and socked Ezekiel in the gut as Caroline pulled at the remains of Ezekiel's hair. He screeched in pain as he clawed Mortisha's arm, creating four thin, red lines against her pale, white skin. Mortisha responded by biting him in two places (recoiling at the taste of Zeke in her mouth) and poked him in the eyes with her fingers. Ezekiel howled in pain and dodged a weak punch thrown by Alan before ramming him in the stomach, sending him out of the fight.

"He's getting weaker!" Trey cried, noticing a dart that stuck out from Ezekiel's back and another that sprouted from his thigh. Trey reached over his shoulder to grab his guitar, only to grasp nothing. "Right. Sasquatchanakwa took it." he said to himself just before Ezekiel kicked him in the face. The little mutant was gaining the upper hand as he grabbed Mortisha and threw her into a tree, much to her delight. Mitchell set his other fist on fire and stabbed it forward, aiming for Ezekiel's head, but the boy dodged and rolled all his attacks. He rolled like a ball as Mitchell fired another ball of flame after him and stopped as he grasped a tree branch. Mitchell fired another ball of fire, and Ezekiel swung his branch like a baseball bat, sending it back to Mitchell.

Mitchell's eyes widened just before the ball of flame smacked him square between the eyes, sending him spiraling to the ground like an airplane shot out of the sky. Ezekiel then turned to Caroline and smiled viciously. He knew that the fight was over. The trembling, quaking girl before him couldn't do him any harm. She couldn't defeat him, beat him, lock him in a cage like Chef had done (after several dozen tries that is). She was completely helpless, unable to even defend herself if so chose to attack her. "You . . . . nothin' . . . . . can . . . . . do." he snarled, barely forming human words with his deformed lips. Caroline gasped and fell back as Ezekiel roared and pounced at her, only to be knocked aside by a large stone that had hit him in the shoulder.

"Come on, Caroline!" Maurananei cheered from behind a thick bush, her head peeking over the edge. "Get him while he's dazed!" Caroline looked over at Maurananei in shock before something clicked in her head. She got up from the ground and stalked over to Ezekiel, who held his throbbing shoulder. She glared at him, pure hatred in her eyes that wasn't there before. "Never pick on my friends." she hissed like a snake before drawing her fist and socking Ezekiel in the face, an audible snapping being heard as his nose broken in two. Ezekiel sunk to the ground and didn't move as Caroline yelled in triumph.

"And the Eagles win the hunt for Zeke the Freak!" Chris yelled above the roar of the helicopter. Collective groans of disappointment and anger could be heard as the Rhino regrouped at their tree house to change back into their normal clothes. "The Rhinos will be sending one sorry competitor home tonight! Torpedo needs num-num!" Chris yelled. "And it was no thanks to Kiko!" Chris caught something out of the corner of his eye and turned to see a glob of something white smear itself all over the helicopter windshield. The chopper shuddered as Chef began to fumble with the controls. It shuddered and jolted as something else hit it. Chris yelled as it went down through the air, the engine smoking. With a loud CRASH! the helicopter smashed into the beach below.

"What hit us?" Chris asked as he crawled out of the wreckage. Chef shrugged and removed a piece of wreckage that was trapping him. "Oh, well. At least my gorgeous face is still alright!"

SPLEK!

"Noooooo!" Chris wailed as another glob of the white stuff hit him in the head, ruining his perfect hair and facial features before the camera. "Wait, is this mashed potatoes!?" Chris yelled as he tasted the stuff. He quickly noticed that the entire water front was filled with starring fish, sharks, dolphins, octopuses, and Fang all laughing and pointing at Chris's misery. "Stop it! Stop laughing!" Chris screamed, running back into the woods, drawing the attention of the birds, squirrels, and other wildife as he ran by, screaming.

"Thanks for the prediction, Anuok." Micheal said, dusting off all 4 of his hands. "I have to admit that was pleasing." Anuok smiled as she, Micheal, and Zelda climbed down from the tree they had perched in. Anuok, having returned with Kiko and Zelda, wrote Micheal a note telling her of her prediction, asking if he wanted it to make it "come true." Micheal had agreed without hesitation, and had brought Zelda to help predict the amount of force, trajectory, and angle to throw the massive magnitude of mashed potatoes they had stolen from Chef's kitchen. The end result was _very _satisfying. "Anyway, who do we vote off tonight?" Micheal asked as he and the girls strolled back to the tree house. Anuok shrugged her shoulders while Zelda thought it out. "Perhaps we should obviate Kiko? She refused to jump into the lake and was asleep for a quarter of the challenge." Anuok once again shrugged her shoulders, unsure whether or not they should do away with Kiko. "I dunno. At least Kiko helped us before she got conked on the noggin. Alex wasn't exactly useful." Micheal said.

It was something to ponder.

* * *

><p>"Alan, if I catch you looking at me, I swear I'll break you in two!" Maurananei threatened from behind another bush. Alan squeaked and to the base of a tree and began to climbing up, out of reach of Maurananei's deadly gaze. After Caroline had beaten the crud out of Ezekiel, the boy's had to walk back with their hands over their eyes as Maurananei had, unfortunately, been stripped of her bathing suit by a certain little, mutant hooligan who was currently residing in an iron bar cage. Needless to say, Maurananei wasn't exactly happy with walking back to their cave in the nude (she had threatened every camera man they came across. If any of them leaked the footage out to the press or didn't delete it, she would break every bone in their body. The camera men and interns quickly complied).<p>

"Prepare to eat my dust tonight." Mitchell said to Trey. They were arguing over who would win at the latest Mario Kart game, and were already making bets. Mortisha and Caroline had also joined in the fun, with Mortisha siding with Mitchell and Caroline with Trey. "Whatever, dude." Trey sighed as he twiddled his fingers as if he were playing his guitar. "I just wish I had my bass back."

"Wish granted, dude." came a deep voice. Micheal with Zelda on his shoulder appeared through a stand of trees with Trey's bass in one of his giant hands. Trey practically screamed like a little girl when he saw it and ran over to Micheal and snatched it out of his grasp, more than happy to have his bass back. "Thanks, man! You're the best!" Trey asked.

"Aw, you're just saying that. Besides, you should really be thanking Zelda. She tracked Sasquatchanakwa down and grabbed the thing while I distracted Banana Breath. Poor guy won't be able to walk right for a week." Micheal laughed as he remembered the short fight that had ensued in the Sasquatchanakwa's cave. Trey grabbed Zelda's hand and shook it vigorously before going back to tuning his bass up, reveling the sound and feel of it.

"Why are guys being so nice anyway?" Maurananei asked as she out from behind the bush, back in a change of her regular attire. Micheal shrugged his shoulders, Zelda bouncing up as he did so. "Just thought Trey might want his bass back, that's all. Besides, I knew Caroline would feel bad about it, so I killed two bird with one stone, as they say. And it's just an expression, Caroline." he said quickly before Caroline could gasp at the thought of Micheal throwing a boulder at a bird and laughing about it.

"Whatever. Go back to your team before they decide to eliminate you." Maurananei said, rolling her eyes in disbelief. Trey thanked Micheal and Zelda one more time before they headed off.

_**Confessional**_

"I just thought Trey might want it back?" Maurananei said in a mocking voice. "Please. I don't trust those Rhinos farther than I can throw them. And if I was throwing Micheal, that wouldn't be very far."

_**End Confessional**_

"Campers. Tonight, for the first time, one of you will be going home." Chris announced as the bright warm fire lit up the Elimination Area. "And, you can't come back. _Ever._" The teens looked at each other suspiciously, most being thrown at Kiko, who glared right back at them. Zelda was cleaning her pink glasses while Anuok chewed nervously on her nails next to her. The Animatrix had changed Micheal back into his human form, and was currently in recharge mode. Reese glanced back and forth between Toni and Kiko, who were engaged in a glaring contest at each other. If looks could kill, those two would have been melted statues.

"When I call your name, come up and receive a marshmallow." Chris announced, holding up a tray with 6 fluffy, white marshmallows on it. "Anuok."

The silent girl smiled and ran up to grab her marshmallow, relishing in the delicious taste as she ate it.

"Zelda and Reese." The two contestants high fived each other and went to grab their marshmallows casting worried looks at Micheal. They relaxed when he was called up next, thankful that their friend was safe for another round.

"Toni." Chris announced. She quickly ran up to the tray of marshmallows and grabbed one, smiling slyly at Kiko's horrified face. It was down to 2 campers left.

"Kiko! You're in danger of going home for refusing to participate in a challenge and dozing off while your team mates carried your weight. Literally." Chris smiled as a flat screen TV popped up behind him showing the footage of Anuok and Zelda dragging her across the ground. Kiko threw a look at them, but they ignored it, having a laugh at Kiko's expense.

"Alex, you're on the chopping block for scaring off Ezekiel. That's pretty much it. Zeke Scaring." Chris said as Alex relaxed slightly. Kiko had many more reasons why she could be going home, so Alex was feeling pretty safe. "And the camper going home tonight is . . . . ."

Silence fell upon the teams as Chris kept them in suspense. Well, more silent than it usually was at an elimination. It was so quite, it seemed even the fire had decided to stay silent. The wind refused to blow past them, and the usual wolf howl that haunted the night was no where to be heard. The campers that were already safe, their fluffy marshmallows in their hands, glanced at each other, unsure whether Alex or Kiko would be going home tonight.

"Alex. You're taking a ride in the Torpedo of Shame." Chris proclaimed, throwing Kiko her marshmallow. She nearly fainted from relief when she caught it and stuffed it in her mouth, relishing its symbolism and taste. Alex sighed and got from his log, following Chris to the submarine that was dock at the pier.

_**Confessional**_

"Whew! Made it through another elimination." Kiko said with relief. "I guess I have to start pulling my weight if I want to stay in it. I'm gonna need that watch sooner than I thought. Time to get my little minion to work. She said, rubbing her hands together.

_**End Confessional**_

"Any final words, Alex?" Chris asked. Alex shook his head sadly and climbed into the capsule. It quickly sealed shut and Chef stuffed it into the launch tube. "Fire!" Chris cried as he pressed the remote control. There was dull boom as the capsule was fired, racing through the water toward the horizon. "Now that that's over, lets get rid of the trash." Chris said, turning to face a sleeping Ezekiel. Chef quickly stuffed the little monster into another capsule before he could wake up, and Chris pressed the button, sighing with relief as the vessel was fired off. "Finally. We got rid of him!" Chris said, just as a loud snarl echoed through the sub. "Wait, we _did _fire Ezekiel out of the torpedo cannon, right?" Chef shrugged and left the submarine, climbing up through the hatch. Chris shivered and sat down in the recliner, ignoring the nagging feeling in his head. "Well, either way. . . . who will go next? Who will be the best? And will I ever find out if I got rid of Zeke once and for all? Find out next time on Total! Drama! Pahkitew's Vengeance!"

* * *

><p>"Zelda." a voice hissed. Zelda glanced up from her book to see Kiko from the doorway, gesturing for her to come outside. The rest of the team had gone off to bed, Micheal snoring like an elephant and Reese snoring like a hamster. Zelda closed her book and tip toed out to the deck, where Kiko was waiting for her, leaning against the railing. "Remember those favors you owe me?" Kiko asked slyly. Zelda nodded her head. "Well, I've decided to cash one of them in; I need you to make me a duplicate of Micheal's watch." Kiko said, drawing a gasp from Zelda. "But, I can't do that!" she cried. Kiko clapped a hand over Zelda's mouth. "Sssshh! Look, I just need one for something . . . . special." Zelda cocked an eyebrow. "Please? I need it! Besides, you owe me one!" Kiko argued. Zelda sighed and rubbed her forehead. "I'll see what I can do. I'll need you to get a basic layout of it, before I can even begin making a copy." Kiko pumped her fist. "Yes!" The 2 girls crept back into the tree house, unaware that they were being watched from the roof. A sleek, black panther jumped down from the roof and landed on the deck with a barely audible thud. The cat slunk into the tree house and stalked up to Toni's bunk, its black coat keeping it hidden in the dark. All one could see of the big cat was its glowing eyes as the moonlight reflected on them, turning them an eerie green. A lump the length of Toni's bed lay under the covers as the panther tugged on the sheets, pulling them away to reveal several pillows. The black panther jumped onto the bunk and held still for a moment as its shape rippled.<p>

Its ears became less pointed and moved down to the side of its head as its face began to pulse and swell, falling in some places and rising in others, as the face of a girl with mocha skin and chocolate brown hair emerged. The tail slurped back up into her spine as the black fur disappeared to reveal soft human skin. A bright red tank top and black shorts appeared as the leg bones ground and shifted into long legs and a pair of arms. The claws grew dull as individual fingers and toes appeared and the remnants of the fur finally vanished. The panther was gone. In its place was Toni in her sleepwear.

She yawned and crawled under the covers. "I knew there was something off about her."

**And there's the second episode! Please vote for who you want to go next by PMing me. If you have any constructive criticism about the story or your character (if they're in the story) please comment in the reviews below. If you have any ideas for challenges, _please _PM me. Seriously, I have no idea how the people that make Total Drama come up with those things so easily. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a Skulduggery Pleasant book to read. Adios!**


	3. A Million ways to be Injured in the West

**Okay, sorry this took so long to write. I started out with a good idea, but it turned out horribly, so I went with this instead.**

**I also have exciting news. A reader who has loyally followed this story from day one has been nice enough to create some artwork featuring the entire cast! They have agreed to let me use the art as the cover for this story. _Tsukuyomu_, I thank you. Let me now how it's comin'!**

**Anyway, it's time to head back to Pahkitew Island!**

**Enjoy!**

"Last time, on Total Drama: Pahkitew's Vengeance! We went for a swim to look for some keys that opened a chest, all without using our eyes! Anuok sank, Kiko refused, and Micheal and Zelda nearly went BOOM! Afterward, I sent the campers on a suicidal hunting trip to search for the notorious Ezekiel that has been haunting me ever since Season 3! In a strange turn of events, Trey lost his guitar to a Sasquatch, Maurananei made a bold fashion statement, and we saw a more dangerous side to Caroline that perceived! Alex took the Torpedo of Shame, and I didn't miss him one bit."

"Will I go easy on them this week? I seriously doubt it. Who will win? Who will lose? Who will be the next one to be launched out of the Torpedo of Shame? And when will I stop asking you these meaningless questions? Find out at the most dramatic bonfire ceremony yet! On Total! Drama! Pahkitew's Vengeance!" Chris cried.

_**(theme song plays)**_

"Leave me to all the hard work," Kiko grumbled under her breath. "Go ahead and bath while I do the work that could kill me." The woman was trying desperately to sketch Micheal's powerful watch, in the hopes that Zelda could in turn make one for her. This proved harder than perceived. For one, Micheal was a restless sleeper, always tossing and turning in his bunk as Kiko tried to look at his watch. The slightest disturbance would alert him, and he instinctively activate the Animatrix, turning him into who-knows-what. That was something Kiko wanted to avoid.

The second problem was that the Animatrix was proving hard to draw. She could easily sketch the outside of the watch, drawing the symbol on its face and the way it hooked onto Micheal's wrist permanently, but she couldn't get inside. There wasn't any screws, bolts, or anything signaling a hatch to open to the inside. "Stupid watch!" she rasped to herself as Micheal rolled over again. Kiko cursed and crept to the other side of the bunk, only to have Micheal turn to the other side. "AAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHH!" she yelled. Micheal didn't stir. Kiko dashed to the other side of the bed and grabbed Micheal's arm, furiously poke and pushing every spot on the watch, desperate to find the opening. "What is it!?" she roared, jabbing her finger into the face of the watch. The device gave a light beeping sound, and the face opened up, revealing the activation button and the wires and and other bits inside. "Finally." Kiko breathed, feeling a little silly. Quietly, she moved the wires and tubes aside to sketch the other parts on a sketch pad. Soon she had a crude sketch of the Animatrix, with the fanged activation button in the middle. Almost done, she moved aside a stubborn part aside, and accidentally snapped it off. Kiko winced and tried to move it back into place before stabbing the face of the watch again, closing the hatch. She quickly skittered to her bed and dove under the covers as Micheal yawned and rose from his bunk, unaware that his watch had been probed.

Kiko waited under her covers, pretending to be asleep as Micheal walked past her bunk and out onto the deck. She heard the sound of the rope ladder clattering against the tree trunk as Micheal climbed down. It wasn't until she was sure he was gone did she relax. She breathed a sigh of relief, not even realizing she had been holding it in desperation.

WWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNNKKKK!

Kiko yelped and hit her head on the bottom of the bunk above her as Chris blew his air horn over the loud speakers for the entire camp hear. "Morning, campers!" Chris's annoying voice came over the speakers, as everyone covered their ears. "Meet me near the beach in 15 minutes for your next challenge! It's gonna be painful, so bring your A game!" Kiko growled and stashed the note pad in her pants pocket to show to Zelda later.

* * *

><p>"Thank you for all meeting me here today," Chris began with his trade mark grin. The host stood on the dock of Pahkitew with his co-host, Chef, next to him. To their lefts sat a flat screen TV on a rolling stand, showing a map of the island. Twelve red dots clustered on the docks indicated the contestants, although there was nothing to show that Chris and Chef were there (tracking devices!?) "Like we had a choice in the matter." Maurananei grumbled under her breath. The host of the show was starting to grind her last nerve; not only he deliberately try to kill her and her fellow contestants several time over, he had done everything in his power to keep her away from her one true love: Chef Hatchet.<p>

_**Confessional**_

"Oh! I miss my Chefy Wefy sooooooooo much!" Maurananei cried, balling her hands into fists as she sighed. "I've _got _to figure out someway to get to him! Which means getting rid of Chris. Hmmmm." she hummed to herself, until a plan formulated in her head. "I've got it! Unfortunately, it means I'm gonna need some help from those dumb rhinos," she growled. "But I will do whatever it takes to be with my Chocolate Strongman!"

_**End Confessional**_

"As you may or may not know, Pahkitew Island isn't what it seems like from the outside," Chris started. The contestants nodded, remembering what Scarlet had done to the island in her fit of rage; rocket trees, killer robot animals, mountains and valleys suddenly appearing out of nowhere. "The island is artificial, meaning it is controlled by this one remote." Chris claimed, showing the contestants yet another remote control with a large red button in the center. "How many of those things do you have?" Kiko asked with suspicion in her voice.

"Dozens." was all Chris would say. The contestants paled slightly at the thought of that many remotes controlling something, or several somethings, that could easily kill them. "Anyway, I will now demonstrate the power that I wield at my finger tips." Chris announced, dramatically pressing the large red button on the remote. The reaction was immediate.

The entire island rumbled and shook, as if an earthquake were occurring at that very moment. The contestants yelled and screamed in panic as Chris and Chef stood idly by, as if this happened on a regular basis. The large, looming mountains began to rumble and shrink, slowly descending into the electrical network of the island. The evergreen and oak trees were sucked back into the ground as deep orange sierras rose to the sky. Tall cacti and dried up tumbleweeds took the trees places as canyons and valleys began to form in the island's crust. A thick hissing sound could be heard as the air began to heat up until an unfortunate bird burst into flames overhead.

"Island Desertification complete." a computerized voice announced.

"What with the who-now!?" Alan cried as a rattlesnake slithered by his foot. The snake glanced up at him, almost debating whether he should bite Alan or not, who hid behind Mortisha before it could make up its mind. "What the heck did you do, McClain!?" Maurananei roared. Chris looked at Maurananei and the rest of the cast with a 'you've-got-to-be-kidding-me' look. "I have just turned the once lushly covered Pahkitew Island into a searing hot wasteland I like to call, Chef's Heart!" Chris joked, earning him an angry look from his co-host.

"Today, you will be making like history's greatest cowboy's and bandits!" Chris announced as he donned a large, black cowboy hat, black boots, and a belt with a golden belt buckle of his face. "One team will be driving our stage coach rental from one end of the island to the other, while the other team does everything in their power to try and stop them from doing so." Chris explained, gesturing to an old, red stage coach with worn wheels and peeling paint. Several bags and suitcases rested on top, and the contestants quickly realized it was their _own _luggage, as a pair of reins hung limply on the driver's seat.

_**Confessional**_

"Okay, now that's just an invasion on someone's private space." Kiko said with a disappointed look on her face. "You have just made it to all new low, Chris."

_**Change Confessional**_

"When I get my hands on him, I am gonna wring his **BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! **neck! Then, I'm gonna cut off his **BEEP! **fingers, before I shove them down his **BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! **Craw!" Maurananei roared.

_**End Confessional**_

"Soooo, how do we know which team gets which part?" Mortisha asked with little concern that her own suitcase was in danger of being destroyed. "This where we both go a little off book _and _get interesting," Chris said with a mischievous grin. "In every Western movie, there is a bar brawl of some kind. Since most of you are under age, we'll be resorting to the next best thing: wrestling!"

_**Confessional**_

"Ever since I broke Ezekiel's nose last challenge, I haven't been afraid to fight anyone," Caroline said with a hint of happiness. "I think I'm finally starting to stand up for myself!"

_**End Confessional**_

"Now, my _complete _random decision," Chris began, winking to Chef. "Members from both teams will face off against each other. The team with the most wins, will drive the stage coach while the losers try to capture it." The contestants glanced at each other nervously, as those that were dangerous and knew it (Maurananei, Micheal, Mitchell, and Mortisha) prepped for the up coming slaughter of those that were far weaker than them (Reese). "Caroline and Micheal, you're up first!" Chris announced, pointing to a plain pen surrounded by wooden fence. Several large rocks and boulders lay scattered about, providing cover from attacks. Caroline and Micheal both confidently hopped over the fence and walked to opposite corners as Chris watch them both with an evil grin.

"GO!" the host commanded.

Quick as a flash, Micheal activated the Animatrix and, without even looking at the hologram, slapped the activation button. In a bright red flash that blinded Caroline, Micheal vanished and was replaced by something completely different. The creature was covered from head to claw in bright green plating. It stood on two jointed legs that bent back with a thin film of webbing between the joints. The foot was composed of two sharp claws and another one on the heel. It had scrawny arms with three spikes on either one with two sharp fingers and a thumb on the hands. The creature had a large horn on its head, with two smaller ones over the eyes, making the large creature resembl ft tall grasshopper. The creature was also fortunately, wearing an odd pair of red, black, and white overalls.

"Cool! An Orthonopterran!" Micheal exclaimed as he glanced at himself. "I'm gonna squish you like a bug!"

_**Confessional**_

"Remember what I said a few seconds ago?" Caroline asked the camera as she shivered and sweated with fright. "Forget everything I said. I'm a freakin' coward!" she wailed, bursting into tears.

_**Change Confessional**_

"Okay, so here I'm thinking 'I can't let my team down or I'm torpedo food'," Micheal said to the camera as he scratched himself behind one of his horns. "Then I'm thinking, 'I can't exterminate this sweet girl I'm up against, she's already been through so much'. So what am I supposed to do!?"

_**End Confessional**_

With a faux evil grin that showcased a row of sharp teeth that fit tightly together, Micheal crouched low to the ground and sprang high into the air, disappearing for a brief moment in the sun's glare, before coming crashing back down to the ground, head first. Without even panicking, he crashed head first into a large boulder, shattering it into smaller pieces as a cloud of dust rose. Caroline crept closer, unsure if her opponent had just defeated himself when there came a loud "WOO-HOO!" Caroline screamed and ran away as the Orthonopterran rocketed toward the sky once more.

_**Confessional**_

"I can not _wait _to get my hands on that watch!" Kiko squealed. "An animal whose head is harder than concrete! Eeeeeee-eeeeee!"

_**End Confessional**_

"I don't think we're getting anywhere with this." Chris sighed after fifteen minutes. For the past quarter of an hour, Caroline had run helter-skelter around the pen as Micheal crushed everything inside to dust as he bounced around like a giant bouncy ball. "Squish her already!" Kiko yelled.

"You don't think I'm trying!?" Micheal shot back.

"No, I think you're trying to do a pathetic imitation of the Tango!" Kiko roared, thumbing a fist on a fence post in anger. Most of the other contestants watched with a bored expression, with the exception of Reese, Maurananei, and Mortisha. "Stop bouncing around and engage in hand-to-hand combat with her!" Reese called out. Maurananei shot him a glare and gave him a wedgie, drawing out a pained squeak from Reese's lips. Micheal gave a thumbs up (wincing as Maurananei gave Reese his wedgie), and slammed into the ground into Caroline before pouncing on her. The two rolled around the pen, bouncing off the fence posts like a giant pinball, locked in mortal combat.

"_(Ergh!) _Please don't _(ugh!) _kill me!" Caroline pleaded as the two tussled about, kicking up sand and dust as they fought.

"I don't want _(argh!) _to kill you!" Micheal grunted as placed a well aimed kick to Caroline's gut. Caroline flew back into a fence post, hitting her head hard with the wind knocked out of her. "Sorry!" Micheal hissed quietly. Before anyone could hear what he had said, he roughly grabbed Caroline by the shoulders and pitched her across the pen, her face skidding into the sand. Micheal quickly back flipped and landed right on top of her, her legs on either side of her body as he crouched low to the ground so that his mouth was even with her ear. "I'm throw the fight, okay?" he whispered. Caroline gasped. "Why?" she asked quietly as she spat out a mouthful of sand. Before Micheal could answer, she grabbed his wrists and her pulled her over her hand, throwing him to the ground. She then quickly pounced on top of him, her feet planted firmly on his feet and her hands pinned his wrists to the dust. "Because, I know what you're going through." Micheal coughed. Caroline looked at him quizzically.

"I know you don't have a lot of friends, for starters." he explained. "Not a lot of people don't care for an animal lover, do they? Not even your parents, right?" Caroline's face quickly fell; he had nailed it right on the head. She had never been very popular with the other students back home, and even the girls in her girl scout troop had teased her to no end behind the den mother's back. She had only ever truly been home at the animal shelter, where the stray dogs and cats never judged her. That was the thing she liked about animals; even with her ability to speak with them, they never said a harsh word to her. And here was a guy who was not only reaching out to her, to help her even, he could become any animal she had ever dreamed of meeting.

"So, you cool?" Micheal asked. Caroline startled, giving Micheal enough time to jerk his feet free from hers and shove them into her gut, lifting the small girl off of the shape-shifter and into the air, where she landed in the sand with a low thump. "Yes." she gasped as Micheal landed an inch next to her head. Micheal winked and Caroline roughly grabbed his leg and pulled him to the ground. As Micheal played coy, Caroline jumped onto his back and pulled back hard on his eye horns. "Up!" she commanded in as rough as a voice as possible. The Orthonopterran crouched low and rocketed upward, drawing a gasp out of Caroline as she glanced down. Then, as soon as they seemed to reach their maximum height, they came plummeting down, down, down back toward the ground, landing with a dull boom, creating a cloud of dust.

Everyone watched wide eyed as sand was flung dozens of yards into the air. As the dust cleared, a lone figure stood up on shaky legs and emerged from the large crater victorious: Caroline. The Eagles cheered as they pulled Caroline over the side of the fence and onto Maurananei's large shoulders. "I knew my girl would toughen up soon enough." Maurananei smiled. The Rhinos jumped over the fence and slid down the side of the pit to see a dazed Micheal lying on his back, covered in sand. "That girls got good." he coughed as he was helped to his feet by Toni and Zelda. Kiko just glared at him with an angered, yet calculating look in her eye.

"And the score is 1 to 0! Finally." he added under his breath. The fight had taken 20 minutes to complete, much more time than when Duncan and Courtney had dueled it out in a ball pit, or when Sierra, Courtney, Owen, Cody, and Tyler fought in Greece. Even the battle between Scott and Fang had been short. Short, but dramatic fights where the fighters were greatly injured was 'ratings gold'. Long, pathetic fights where the fighters played a not so friendly game of tag was 'ratings something else'. Chris grinned mischievously as the fighters for the next match came in his head.

"Now then! Reese and Maurananei, you're up next!" Chris announced as Reese gulped and Maurananei cracked her knuckles in a threatening fashion. "And remember: anything goes, as long as it's legal!" Chris said, Maurananei snapping her fingers in frustration, which only made Reese shiver and quake even more. The two contestants both climbed over the fence and into the crater that had been formed by Micheal. Reese, looked like he was going to both wet and crap his pants at the same time as Maurananei popped her fingers one by one, cruelly drawing out the time before the kill, a game of cat and mouse. It didn't take a genius to figure out who the cat was and who the mouse was.

"GO!" Chris sounded off. Barely had the words left his lips, had Maurananei charged across the crater, and slammed into Reese's brittle body, the sickening sound of something being popped out of place heard loud across the island. Before Reese could even scream, he was hoisted up in the air and brutally slammed down to the dirt before Maurananei jumped on top of him, driving her foot into the area between his shoulder blades. "Dude! You won already! Let it go!" Mitchell yelled, but Maurananei ignored him. "No! I'm not done yet! I want to make him suffer!" she hissed.

_**Confessional**_

"Ever since Ezekiel's been booted off the island, I've had a lot of pent up energy." Maurananei explained. "Sure, I could beat down a couple dozen trees or wrestle several bear bots, but there's nothing like hearing the satisfying sound of a real body screaming in torture as you slowly kill it. I would engage one of the other contestants, but the only one who would even have a remote chance of beating me is Micheal. When I fist asked him, he asked me if I had just gotten hit in the head with rock!"

_**End Confessional**_

"Maurananei! Let it go! You've won already!" Chris yelled as Reese screamed. Once again, Maurananei ignored the shouts that distracted her from her sick game. She had once been tempted to draw out her knife and make Reese's torture even crueler, but thought better of it. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Chef, Mitchell, and Micheal preparing to tackle her, save Reese from her. "Time for the swan song." she said to herself. She lightly stepped off of Reese's back, giving him brief relief from the pain that coursed through his body. But it was short lived when he felt a bone crushing force suddenly slam into his back. What had happened was simple; Maurananei charged toward the side of the crater and ricocheted off of it, sailing through the air before landing with her feet planted on Reese's spine. The small boy howled in pain as Maurananei put a foot triumphantly on his skull, shoving it into the dirt. Before she could command anyone to take a picture of her, she slammed into by three large figures: Chef, Mitchell, and a Nisilaha. While Mithcell and Micheal kept Maurananei firmly pinned to the ground, Chef pried Reese out of the sand and slung him over his shoulder, rushing him to the infirmary.

"And we have a winner!" Chris announced with a shaky voice. "Mitchell! Micheal! I want you to keep Ms. Terminator down for the count until the next challenge. Can ya do that for me?" Normally, neither teenager would have taken such orders from the mad man that had tortured them for the past two weeks, but they were willing to let it slide after what the banshee they were sitting on did to Reese. The two super powered teens slowly pulled Maurananei out of the pit. The girl made no move to struggle, but neither of them were taking any chances; Micheal had all four arms wrapped around Maurananei's own, binding them to her sides as Mitchell kept his his hands firmly around Maurananei's legs.

"Now then! Before we continue, we'll have a little break. Should be enough time for the interns to fill in the pit for the next fight." Chris disclosed. "And because Maurananei put Reese out of the challenge, she too will be forced to sit it out. And if her team loses, she _will _have a chance at elimination." Everyone on the Eagles gasped. Never, other than the time Scarlet took over the island and threatened to kill the previous cast, had Chris been so strict. Ordinarily, Chris would have been egging Maurananei, encouraging her to injure Reese as much as possible. He also knew that it wouldn't go over well the producers, not to mention the whole wide world. Chris could see the head line now:

WORLD REKNOWNED HOST RESPONSIBLE FOR NERDLING'S DEATH!

While Chris was busy thinking up excuses to tell the many lawyers and fans, not to mention emails, that would come his way, Kiko pulled Zelda aside as both members of the Rhinos and Eagles alike took the chance to walk to the infirmary to check on their injured cast mate; Micheal and Mitchell dragged Maurananei along after they had found a stray straight jacket, along with a coil of rope, several pick and combo locks, and a roll of duct tape, and used them to decapitate Maurananei, and prevent her from possibly hurting someone else.

"I got it," Kiko said in a hushed voice, handing her sketch pad to Zelda. The pink girl took it and looked over the many drawings and sketches, marveling at the intricacy and design of the device. It was like nothing she had every seen, every part working flawlessly to turn the host from one animal into another. "These are fantastic!" she exclaimed, forcing Kiko to silence her. "Unfortunately, I will need several DNA samples before you can wear it. We'll have to run some tests and-"

"What's DNA?" Kiko interrupted.

_**Confessional**_

"Seriously? She has no idea what DNA is?" Zelda exclaimed. "She's an adult for crying out loud!"

_**End Confessional**_

With an exasperated look on her face, Zelda explained Kiko's question to her. "Look, I just need you get samples from the animals on the island." Kiko looked confused. "but, aren't they all robots?" Zelda rolled her eyes. Some people were impossible. "You honestly think every animal on this island is fake? There's bound to be at least a few real ones. And if you can't find any, just get some off of Micheal was he's in morph and not looking."

The smile that was plastered on Kiko's face scared Zelda to no end. "Done. Just build the watch, and we can test it." the woman said as the teams returned, Micheal dragging Maurananei unceremoniously through the dust. Chris cleared his throat, drawing the attention of the teens. "Okay! After . . . . recent events . . . . it's time to get back to the challenge. Mitchell, why don't you tie Maurananei to that cactus over there? I'm sure you don't want to miss what's next." Chris said with an evil smile. Mitchell slowly complied to Chris's demand, completely creeped out by the evil smile on the host's face.

"Mitchell! Kiko! You're up!" Chris announced. Kiko, for once, didn't look confident as Mitchell's finger tips crackled with fire.

_**Confessional**_

"I can not _wait _for Zelda to finish that stupid watch." Kiko coughed. Her clothes and hair were singed black as curls of smoke drifted off of her blackened self. "There's gotta be _one _animal that's fire-proof!"

_**End Confessional**_

"GO!" Chris yelled. Kiko balled her hands up into fists and stood her ground as Mitchell calmly walked toward her, with a cocky smile on his face. "Surrender now, before you get burned." he said. Kiko rolled her eyes. "Please. As if I would take orders from anyone younger than me." Mithcell seemed unfazed by the insult. "Fine. Suite yourself." Before Kiko could ask what he meant, something odd happened. Mitchell closed his eyes, chanting something incomprehensible under his breath. As he did, his skin began to crackle and bubble, like lava. It turned hard and black like stone, as the skin between the magma rocks glowed red hot. Smoke started to curl off of Mitchell's hair before it suddenly burst into flames. Kiko gasped as the magma rocks quickly raced up Mitchell's arms to consume his body, racing down his legs and over his chest as red hot magma filled in the cracks between them. Mithcell's eyes glowed a hot yellowish-white as he summoned a fire ball into his hands.

"I warned you." he said in a voice that sounded like the flames themselves were speaking; chard, and old, devoid of any emotion. Kiko quickly dived out of the way as Mitchell hurled the fireball at the spot where Kiko had once been, the flames licking at the wooden fence like starving wolves. Everyone quickly jumped back from the fence as flames raced across them, preventing anyone from attempting to interfere. "What is wrong with these contestants!?" Chris cried as the sky turned red with flames. Kiko was at the complete mercy of Mitchell as he threw ball after ball of hot coals at her. While he hadn't deliberately done anything to harm her (yet), the flames were getting dangerously close as Kiko dodged and ducked for her life.

"Hold still, will ya!?" Mitchell yelled as he flew after Kiko. Kiko, meanwhile, had no intention of standing still so she could be barbecued. As she ran she pushed out all other thoughts and concentrated. Soon, she heard voices in her own head, calling out to her from the world beyond her mind.

"_She's gonna get creamed!"_

"_C'mon, Mitchell! Finish her already!"_

"_When is this old lady gonna give up!?"_

She was reading her fellow competitors thoughts. As far as she knew, there were only a few people who possessed the same ability as she did. Sometimes, her gift turned out to be a curse, other peoples thoughts screaming her head, giving intense head aches that kept her up for hours at night. This time however, it just might save her. And that last remark was like an adrenaline rush, making her faster and stronger. No one called her old and got away with it.

Barely even thinking she jumped into the air and landed on the burning fence. She quickly pried off a piece of the chard railing and sung it with all her might, smacking Mitchell in the face as he charged her. The force sent Mithcell flying back into the other side of the pen, where he crashed through the fence and into a saguaro cactus. "And we have our winner!" Chris announced as the smell of burning cactus filled the air. Mitchell winced as he pulled himself loose from the prickly plant. "Rhinos up 1, but the Eagles are still ahead by a point. Up next, we have Anuok and Trey! And will _someone _put out this fire already!?" Chris howled as a prickly pear cactus burst into flames.

"Now that's ironic," Mortisha laughed. The loudest and quietest competitors fighting each other to the death." Everyone looked at her as if she had grown a second head. "You do know this isn't a battle to the death, right?" Toni asked the creepy girl. "Suuuuure." Mortisha said with a sly smile.

"GO!" Chris yelled. Trey whipped out his bass guitar and let out an unearthly howl. Anuok crouched low to the ground, covering her ears as she did. As the sound wave passed over, Anuok leaped into the air, curled herself tightly into a ball and came hurtling back down. Just before she made contact with trey, her foot lashed out, giving him a swift kick to the jaw. While Trey was dazed, she rolled out of range and whipped two somethings out of her pocket. They twirled around in her hands for a few seconds before she held them between her fingers. "What are those?" Micheal asked, squinting his eyes to get a closer look. "They look like daggers!"

"Is there seriously no one on this show who doesn't have a weapon or super power of some sort!?" Chris panicked at the thought of all the law suits heading his way. Anuok ignored the comment and surged forward, her arms flung back behind her. Trey could only block with his bass, using it has a shield as Anuok slashed in an X pattern.

TWANG!

"Ah, man! Not my strings!" Trey whined. Before he could do anything else, Anuok jumped and gave a nasty scissor kick, her right connecting with Trey's jaw, and the other connecting with his nether regions. "Mommy!" Trey squeaked as slumped to the ground, clutching his coconuts as Anuok stood over him triumphantly. "And Anuok earns another point for the Rhinos, making up for a tied match!" Chris announced as Zelda and Alan carried Trey out of the pen. "Up next we have Zelda and Alan!" Chris yelled. "Someone call an ambulance, and quickly."

_**Confessional**_

"As much as I hate to admit it, I probably _will _cream Alan," said Zelda as she adjusted her pink glasses. "I'm trained in dozens of fighting styles, everything from judo to kung fu. I also know ninjitsu, and personally own two dozen different weapons. I personally brought my collapsible bo staff with me. Oh, and a couple cases of throwing stars as well. He's 死んだ肉."

_**End Confessional**_

"GO!" Chris yelled. Zelda quickly whipped out something out of her pocket and lashed it downward, the object folding out until it was about a foot taller than she was tall. She quickly spun it around in her hands, the staff nothing but a pin wheel blur as Alan watched with a glazed look. _She's got everything! Perfect body! Perfect personality! __**And **__she can wield a weapon to defend me! This gal's got it all! _He thought. "All that's standing between me and her, is watch wearing hero." he said to himself, just before Zelda pulled the staff downward, smacking Alan over the head. While the small boy recoiled in pain, Zelda swung low with her bo staff, sweeping out Alan's legs from under him, causing him to fall to the ground. Before Alan could react, Zelda firmly planted the end of the bo staff in the dirt and used it to propelled herself upwards into the air, where she threw four, shiny throwing stars in the time span she was airborne, the spinning blades hitting the ends of Alan's shirt and pants, pinning him to the ground. Alan struggled against them, but helpless against Zelda as she landed on his stomach, knocking the air out of him as she gave a series of rapid punches and jabs to Alan's face. By the time Chris frantically waved for Zelda to stop, Alan's face was black and purple, almost matching the time Micheal had thrown him clear across the island when he got to close to Zelda for comfort.

"And so ends the shortest match yet!" Chris reported to the cameras. "Rhinos are up another point, finally gaining a lead! Zelda, if you would be kind enough to release Alan from your death grip?" Chris asked the pink warrior. Zelda hadn't even realized she had been slowly strangling Alan with her hand, though for some odd reason, he didn't seem to be bothered by it. She quickly pulled out the four throwing stars with ease and slipped them into her back pocket as she folded her bo staff closed. "Nice moves," Alan coughed as he pulled himself off the ground. "Maybe you could teach me?" he asked. "Spend some quality time together?"

Zelda looked at him with disgust all over her face. "In your dreams, pervert." she growled, hopping the fence as Mortisha and Toni entered the ring. The two girls sized each other up; on one end was a short girl wrapped up in a black cloak that was impervious to almost anything anyone might throw at her. She constantly put her life and her family's lives in danger, and they enjoyed every minute of it. On the other end was a girl from Africa, who could move faster and quicker than any human alive; she had raw strength and power on her side, as well as highly developed senses. And if all else failed, she had one more trick up her sleeve that she was ready to deal. She had played her cards just right, and she wasn't ready to be dealt a hand she couldn't play.

"GO!" Chris yelled as Chef, dressed in a nurse's outfit, pushed an injured Reese in a wheel chair up to the fence to watch the fight. The poor kid was covered in bandages on his chest, head, and left arm. Hundreds of purplish bruises and welts were all over his brittle body. He twisted as much as he could to look at Maurananei, who was tied and gagged. The girl who had broken him hissed as best as one could with a mouthful of duct tape, and Reese screamed, jumping in his wheelchair.

_**Confessional**_

"It's official: I am now terrified of Maurananei." Reese shivered. "I used to have this fear of insects and spiders, but that seems pretty small compared to what Maurananei can do to you in less than 30 seconds. At least there's no bug _that _big. Well, except maybe Micheal. I swear, I nearly wet my pants when I saw that thing!"

_**End Confessional**_

Toni began the battle by running to her right, to strike at Mortisha's left side. Executed perfectly, she could have over a hundred different options of bringing her team victory; a quick upper cut to the jaw, the pinch of a nerve, flipping her over and shoving her face into the dirt. But it wasn't meant to be. As Toni approached Mortisha, she drew back her fist and thrust it forward, expecting it to connect with soft flesh. But it was not so.

Faster than Toni could have possibly anticipated, Mortisha dodged to the left, Toni moving right past her. She could feel three quick jabs into her spine by Mortisha's delicate hands. Faster than you could say "KO", Toni was face down in the sand, unable to move except for some twitching. "What did you do to me?" she gasped as Mortisha crouched down to eye level. "Simple. I attacked your central nervous system. It's only temporary, but you will able to send any command to you limbs for the next couple of hours." Mortisha said politely. "And I was really hoping there would be someone could actually hurt me. Oh well, at least I still have my Sugar Hero."

"Sugar Hero?"

"Micheal. He's been so nice to me! Ever since I've got here, he's been nothing but kindness to me! Whenever I ask him to throw me over a cliff, inject me with deadly venoms and poisons, or just plain maul me, he does without hesitation! I think I've found my soul mate!"

"Ever consider that he's just being nice? Or using you as a training dummy?" Toni shot back. She was slowly starting to regain some feeling in her fingers, but it would take too long for her to even be able to move her arms. Toni sighed. It was time to deal the wild card.

She closed her eyes, and shut off all outside noises as she focused on an image in her head. She had run through thousands of similar images, but this one was what she exactly needed. She focused on that same image, and felt the changes begin. The changes were slow, unable to react instantly because of the blockage in her nerves; her fingers shrank back into her hands until they were up to the first joint. Her fingers grew longer and pointed as a short webbing formed between them, barely visible. Her skin turned greenish brown as it cracked into hundreds of tiny 'islands'. Some of the 'islands' turned black while the ones under her arms turned a dull yellow. The changing was too subtle to see from a distance, but it would only be a matter of time before someone, anyone, noticed. She felt her face bulge outward into a pointed snout, as upper and lower jaw raced to cover the distance. Her teeth were quickly sucked back into her gums as hundreds of thick, white cones replaced them, jutting out of the jaw. By now, Mortisha had noticed and was watching with interest. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Kahin ahr utt." Toni managed to say before her tongue lost the ability to move and her vocal chords shriveled away to nothing. Her eyes moved apart on liquid skin until they were on either side of her head. They flashed gold as he iris turned into a slit of black. The green and brown scales began racing up her arms, hurrying to cover her changing face as a row of spikes raced down her back. At the base of her spine, she could feel bone forming as muscle rushed to cover it, and thick, scaly skin to cover that. It lasted for what seemed hours until she had a thick tail that was as long as her body. Speaking of which, it was getting bigger, larger as her legs shrank to match the length of her arms, now her fore legs. The scales finally covered the rest of her as every last piece of hair was sucked into her body. The transformation was complete.

Toni gave an experimental wag of her tail, kicking up a cloud of dust as it was dragged through the sand. She snapped her long jaws, feeling the millions of muscles in her neck force the jaws shut. Her beady eyes caught the surprised and feared look of her fellow contestants as she showed off the strongest jaws on the planet. _"Nilus crocodilian." _Zelda breathed as the large reptile gave a low roar and scrambled after Mortisha, who seemed to be playing a deadly game of tag with the animal.

_**Confessional**_

"Okay, I did _NOT _see that coming? Did you see that coming!?" Chris yelled, ignoring the rotting stench that lingered in the outhouse confessional.

_**Change Confessional**_

"Looks like I'm not the only one with shape-shifting powers around here." Micheal said with a smile.

_**Change Confessional**_

"A girl turning into a crocodile?" Zelda exclaimed. "It defies logic!? It defies all laws of physics! No living organism can just change into an entirely different species without some technological help! Everything I know is a lie! Everything I know is a . .a. . . _aahhhh . . ." _Zelda moaned as she slumped to the ground, her brain unable to comprehend what had happened.

_**Change Confessional**_

"Seriously!? Another super hero? _**SERIOUSLY!?**_" Maurananei roared.

_**End Confessional**_

Toni the crocodile ignored the yelling and cheering from the side lines as she gave chase after the tempting girl in front of her, using her cloak like a red cape to tempt the bull in a bull fight. While the crocodile wasn't exactly idle for high speed chasing, she was big enough to be able to cover the distance from one end of the pit to the other with a big lung. It was the only animal she had that could even cause the _slightest _bit of pain to Mortisha, who seemed to be impervious to any kind of it. One snap of the jaws, and she would have her meal between them, begging for her to stop.

Her prey was smart, she would give it that; kicking up dust to limit her vision. That angered her. She wanted to end the fight now. She _needed _to end it now, before the prey could escape and she would go hungry once more. That was what drove her forward. The hunger. It gnawed away at her stomach like a pack of hyenas, draining away nutrients from her mass and muscle to keep her going. She care if it tasted good or bad, she barely had any taste buds anyway. All she cared was it would fill her belly, provide her with nutrition, and give her the energy to live another day. That was how it worked in the animal kingdom; if you were weak, you become another predators lunch. It was as simple as that.

Mortisha, on the other hand, was having the time of her life. She had never even come close to having this much fun back at home! Sure, she had enjoyed the countless hours of stretching her brother on the rack until his spine popped, or the many happy occasions she had gone snorkeling in the piranha pool with her mother, or the times she had gotten lost in her father's trench coat, but all those activities paled in comparison to being chased around by a starving reptile that had once been a fellow camper. _Oh, how the universe works in mysterious ways!_ She thought to herself. She wanted nothing more than to jump between the jaws of the predator that chased her and let the corrosive stomach acids burn her skin raw, but she wanted to savor the moment. Toy with the beast long enough for it to lose its mind and succumb to instinct. Then the real fun would begin.

Unfortunately, the real fun would not begin any time soon. She suddenly tripped over a rock and tumbled to the ground, enjoying the feeling as rocks and cactus spines dug into her skin. She could feel the earth vibrate under her as the crocodile approached her, roaring in triumph as its jaws clamped over and around her waist. She loved the feeling as the crocodile shook its head like a dog, thrilled by the motion of the jaws, tossing her closer and closer to the throat. She was close enough she could have reached her hand through the throat flap when she the tossing motion stopped. The crocodile had stopped moving, barely even breathing as its jaws suspended her above the ground. Frustrated, she tried to pry them open, unhook the many teeth than dug into her dress and skin so she could go to town, but the jaws stayed firmly shut. "What are you doing!?" she yelled.

The crocodile ignored her and moved its eyes to look at Chris. _Have I won?_ they seemed to say. Chris stiffly nodded his head, and the crocodile gently lowered Mortisha to the ground and open her jaws wide, letting the frustrated girl crawl. "Why did you deny me the best time of my life!?" she yelled, furiously punching the crocodile's thick hide. The large reptile however, didn't feel it as it's mighty form began to shrink. The tough scales melted together, forming flawless, mocha colored, human skin. The stubby fingers grew longer and bent in half as the claws became short and slightly duller. The long jaws were sucked back into the face, the pointed teeth being replaced by flatter teeth as the eyes moved back to the front of the face. Fleshy flaps formed on either side of the eyes, becoming ears as the tail as slowly sucked back up into the spine. The short limbs became longer and more powerful as the creature was forced to stand up on shaky legs. The transformation ended when the golden colored eyes turned back to hazel. Toni had returned.

"And the Rhinos win, thanks to an unexpected gift from Toni!" Chris cried, tipping his cowboy hat up. The Rhinos celebrated, whooping, cheering, hugging each other tightly, doing horrible victory dances that were hilarious to watch, and even throwing insulting faces at the Eagles who watched them with jealousy. "That means the Rhinos get to drive the stagecoach!" Chris announced, ending the celebration as the Rhinos took another look at their cruddy carriage.

"For once, this is one prize I want to return." Kiko said.

* * *

><p>Chris had quickly explained how the challenge was to work; one to two players would pull the stagecoach across the desert like horses, as another player would steer them in the right direct, thanks to a map Chris had reluctantly given them. The other players would ride on top or in the carriage, preventing the Eagles from capturing the stagecoach while the others drove. If the Eagles managed to capturethrow out all the campers except the ones pulling, they would win the challenge. "Any questions?" Chris asked, knowing full well that he would ignore them. For once, no one rose their hands, making Chris slightly disappointed as he pulled out a pistol. Everyone quickly jumped back. "You do know murder committed on national TV, even this one, is illegal, right?" Zelda asked. Chris rolled his eyes. They were too easy sometimes. "Relax, this fires blanks. Unfortunately." he added under his breath, Toni shooting him a deadly look. "Now, pick your horses and driver. You have a five minutes head start before the Eagles come after you on these!" Chris cried, gesturing to six horses who looked like they had seen better days at the race tracks. Their legs were short and stumpy, their manes and tail matted and tangled as hundreds of flies buzzed around them. "So! Get going!"

"Micheal and Toni should pull the stagecoach," Zelda said, reading a suggestion Anuok had written on her note pad. "Can't argue with that."

"I can," Kiko said, yanking the note pad from Zelda's grasp and throwing it back to Anuok. "We need at least one of them to protect us in case the Eagles attack!"

"But if both of them pull, we'll be faster than the Eagles will be. Need I remind you that their horses on long since over due for the glue factory? Micheal and Toni can probably change into strong, healthy horses that will keep us far ahead of the Eagles. We have this challenge in the bag!"

For once, Kiko couldn't argue with that, though she demanded that she be the driver. Zelda and Anuok carefully loaded Reese into the carriage, careful to make sure he wouldn't be in too much pain when the ride got bumpy. Anuok closed the door behind her as Zelda jumped up onto the roof, ready to stomp on any fingers that came too close. "Don't forget these!" Chris yelled, tossing each of them an oversized cowboy hat. Toni's and Micheal's were extra large, with slits on either side of the brim for their ears to slide through. "But we can't see out of these things!" Micheal complained. "That's the point." Chris said with a frown. Sometimes, the contestants ceased to amaze him. The two shape-shifters reluctantly put the cowboy hats on their heads and began to change, Micheal accessing his Animatrix while Toni concentrated on an image of a horse in her head.

Soon, a pair of brown mustangs were hooked up to the wagon, bits in their mouths and large cowboy hats on their heads. They nervously pawed the ground with their hooves as Kiko gave an experimental pull of the reins. "You'll have a five minute head start before the Eagles come after you," Chris added as the Rhinos made their final preperations. "Oh, and since Maurananei and Reese are out of the challenge, they're aren't allowed to do _anything. _Just sit back and try not to die, or you will be instantly eliminated. As in, torpedo food." Maurananei shot Chris a death glare, but the maniacal host ignored it. "On your mark! Get set! GO!" Chris yelled as he jabbed a finger into his ear and shot off the gun. Kiko gave a snap of the reins. The horses whinnied and reared before shooting out across the desert, leaving a plume of dust in their wake.

* * *

><p>"Any idea where we are?" Kiko called back to Zelda. After a couple of minute of running across lonely plain, Zelda had rummaged around in several of the suitcases and found a map, hidden in her own pink suitcase of course. "I think we'll be about 18 of the way there when we take a left take the Chris shaped rock." Zelda said as she looked over the map. "Chris shaped rock?" Kiko wondered aloud. Where in the name of Chef's kitchen would they ever find a Chris shape-

"LEFT!" Zelda yelled.

Kiko jerked the reins to the left, causing Micheal and Toni to cry out in protest as the stagecoach swerved to the left, passing a large rock that looked similar to Mt. Chris-more from Season 4. "Man, he really does love himself, doesn't he?" Kiko marveled at the sight of the monument. Zelda turned away in disgust as she swung down to look inside the carriage. "How you guys holding up in there?" she asked. Anuok and Reese held onto his wheelchair with white knuckles, but none the less claimed they were fine. "Every time we hit a bump, I feel my insides jump around," Reese said in a sickly tone. "Other than that, I'm doing just fine."

Anuok merely gave her a thumbs up, and Zelda swung back up to the roof again. "If we keep following the trail, we should be able to make it to the other side of the island sunset." Zelda said to Kiko.

"Why sunset? Isn't that a bit far?" Kiko asked as she cracked the reins. The horses neighed in protest, but none the less kept running. Zelda shrugged. "I dunno know. Must be a big island." Kiko said and lay back on the driver's seat, trying to enjoy the bumpy ride through the rough terrain.

* * *

><p>"Aaaaaaand, <em>go!<em>" Chris yelled. The Eagles turned to their horses, and attempted to saddle them. The horses however, had other plans. They quickly dispersed, running off in different directions. "Don't just stand there! After them!" Chris yelled, sending the Eagles scrambling. Mitchell and Caroline quickly caught and saddled theirs with ease, waiting by the starting line for the rest of the team to catch their own horses. Maurananei tackled her's to the ground and climbed onto its back before it could run away. The horse whinnied in protest, walking on shaky legs. Trey pounced onto the back of his horse and hung on for dear life as it bucked and kicked, trying to bounce him off. Mortisha managed to corner hers and grab it by the tail, acting like a water skier as the horse towed her around on the sand. "C'mon, Alan! It's not that difficult!" Mortisha yelled as she was pulled along. Alan gritted his teeth. If he ever wanted to impress Zelda, much less any girl, he had to get back on the horse, physically _and _figuratively. With a yell, he jumped at the stubborn horse, catching it by surprise as he wrapped his hands around its neck. "I did it!" he cried before the horse bucked him off into the sand. Alan groaned, but the horse wasn't done with him yet. With a swift kick of the hind legs, Alan went flying through the air and landed in the grasp of a large saguaro cactus. The horse snorted and clopped away. As Mitchell and Trey reluctantly rode off to help Alan down, Caroline went after Alan's horse, in the hopes that she might be able to convince it to help them.

She found the poor animal drinking from the lake shore, its tail swishing back and forth in the hopes that it might get rid of the many flies that rode around its head. Caroline sucked in a deep breath before gently urging her horse forward.

"Um, hello there." said Caroline nervously, bringing a hand up to wave at the horse. The horse jerked its head up in surprise as it looked at her with agitated eyes.

_You've got some nerve comin' after me, after what that jerk tried to do. _the horse said angrily.

Caroline gulped. "Well, yes. Um, sorry about that. Anyway, I was wondering if you could possibly help us across the desert?"

The horse tossed its head and rolled its eyes. _And what makes you think I'll let anyone ride on my back after what Manure for Brains made me do?_

"Alan? Oh, he's just–

_No, no, no. Not **that **Chicken head. I'm talkin' 'bout the big cheese. The guy who runs this whole operation he calls a TV show._

"Chris?"

The horse nodded. _The same. Ever since Chris let that big oaf Owen on my back, I haven't been able to gallop straight. Every season a challenge calls for a horse, they always use me and my bros. My name used to Roger. Now they call me Fracture on account of my __**broken spine!**_the horse roared. To anyone who had caught the two in mid conversation, would have heard a very angry whinny. _I'm just surprised James and the others let you guys on them, despite the many attempts to kick you off._

_Hey, don't insult her, dude! She's actually pretty decent!" _Caroline's horse argued. _"She doesn't over work me like Manure Face does every time he wants a laugh at other people's expenses!_

Caroline sighed. This was tougher than she thought. She was feeling mixed feelings right now; pity, sadness, rage. The thought of Chris constantly mistreating the horse made her blood boil. They could have been strong, lean horses like the ones Micheal and Toni had changed into, but after years of abuse and mistreatment from Chris, they looked like they were on their last legs. "Where does Chris keep you guys when you're not being used?" she asked, a plan beginning to form in her head.

_In an old stable on the south end of the island, hidden under a rock face. The place smells like a sewer cause Manure for Brains never bothered to clean the place up. He didn't even send any of those pathetic interns over. He just sends Chef to give us leftovers. Why do ya ask? _Fracture growled.

"Because, if you and your friends cooperate, I'll make sure you get the treatment you deserve; extra food, clean stalls, daily brushing, horse shoes, apples and hay, you name it." Caroline smiled.

_Whoa! Even crunchy sugar cubes? _Fracture asked with rapt attention.

Caroline's smile broadened. "Yep. All you have to do is cooperate long enough for us to win. If we don't, I keep up the deal anyway. Do we have a deal?"

Fracture seemed to consider for a brief moment before rearing into the air and kicking and bucking his legs wildly. _Cupcake, you've got yerself a deal. Just one question._

"What's that?"

_Can I at least torture Chicken Face a little?_

"Be my guest." Caroline mischievously smiled. "Just try not to kick him into too many cacti."

* * *

><p>After riding back to the group, Fracture had quickly relayed the information of the deal made between him and Caroline to the other horses, who were more than happy to comply. Caroline finally managed a slightly fearful Alan to suck it up and get onto his horse before the Eagles left him to fry in the heat. With deals made and slight fears conquered, the team rode off after the Rhinos, but not before Chris gave each of them a cowboy hat and black bandit mask, just to set the mood. He also threw in a paint ball gun for each team mate, just to see how things turned out.<p>

"How did you get them to be so collegial?" Maurananei asked Caroline as they passed the Chris shaped rock, trying to ignore the blank and frightful stare of their torturer. Caroline shrugged. "I guess I just have a way with animals." she said, winking at Fracture as Alan rode by with an anxious look on his face.

"You talked to them, didn't you?"

"Yeah." Caroline confessed, pushing the brim of her cowboy out of her eyes. "We have to give them some apples once this whole charade is over."

_Don't forget about cleaning the stalls and the sugar cubes! _Fracture added.

"Just keep walking, Roger." Caroline said to the horse, drawing odd looks from her team mates. "Did he just say something?" Mithcell asked as he pulled up to Caroline. Caroline frowned. "You know, it's considered rude to drop in on other people's conversations." she said.

"It's a horse!" Mithcell argued.

"Same thing." Caroline said, urging her horse James on, ending the conversation. "FYI, they call Chris Manure of Brains!"

The rest of the Eagles paused before bursting out into laughter. "I'm liking these horses more and more!" Trey howled as he pulled out his guitar. "They know anything else about Chris?"

"Uh, let me check," Caroline said. "You know anything James?"

_I know he that he sucks his thumb while he sleeps._ James cracked. Caroline didn't know if horses could smile, but she was pretty sure James was.

"James says that Chris still sucks his thumb," Caroline relayed to the others.

"Does he sleep with a teddy bear?" Mitchell asked

"That he does." Caroline smiled as Mortisha rode past, hooting wildly as she waved her cowboy hat around in the air. Her horse, a Gray Arabian, looked terrified as the crazy girl urged him to go faster and faster through the canyon. _Poor, Jill. She got stuck with the crazy one. _Fracture sighed.

"I'll throw in some extra apples for her." Caroline reassured him.

* * *

><p>The Rhinos were making good time across the desert known as Chef's Heart. They ignored the circling buzzards that followed them as they ran through gullies and gorges and across featureless wastelands dotted with boulders and cacti. Rattlesnakes watched them with wary eyes as they passed by, trying to conserve the small amount of water their host had been forced to give to them in order to avoid a law suit. Zelda's map reading skills had become invaluable when they came to a forked trail, the left one going through a cactus patch and the other going through a steep canyon with tower sierras on either side (they had wisely chosen the canyon trail after an unfortunate sea gull staggered out of the cactus patch looking more like pin cushion rather than a bird).<p>

The sun began to sink low in the sky, turning the azure deep purple and pink stained with bright oranges and reds. Coyotes howled in the distance as elf owls peered out from their lofty cactus hide outs, and Gila monsters crawled out of their sandy burrows; the desert night shift had begun. Almost immediately as the temperature began to cool down, jack rabbits and desert pronghorn emerged from their shady hiding places. Porcupines could be observed shuffling about as desert tortoises slowly munched on delicious cactus plants low to the ground. "Sure is pertty out 'ere, ain't Kiko?" Zelda said in a mock Western accent. Kiko nodded and breathed in sweet night air that for once didn't smell like oil or exhaust fumes. "How you holding up there?" Kiko called back to Anuok and Reese, knowing that it would only be Reese who would answer.

"We're doing fine, ever since the trail smoothed out. I just hope we get to the finish line before it gets really dark." Reese said.

"What happens if we don't?" Kiko asked nervously, sitting up straight as a rod.

Reese shrugged. "I don't know. The worst thing that could happen to us would be an animal attack."

"You mean like coyotes?"

"Yeah, that's one problem," Zelda said, looking up from her map. "But they're cowards compared to pumas."

"Pumas?"

"Mountain lions." Reese corrected. "While they can be called cougars, pumas, mountain lions, painters, panthers, or catamounts, they're still nasty."

"You don't think Chris was crazy enough to add them out here, do you?" Kiko gulped nervously. Zelda rolled her eyes. "It's Chris. If there's any chance we could be brutally mauled or maimed, he'll make sure we do." Zelda frowed.

_**Confessional**_

"I can't believe I ever had a crush on that little, _sexy, sweet, _psycho path!" Kiko ranted, before realizing she had accidentally complimented someone she was trying to insult. "Ugh, I hate this show!"

_**End Confessional**_

The Rhinos rode on in silence, the cries of the coyotes echoing through the cool night air. The cacti rose above the flat landscape like strangling fingers desperate to grab onto anything to pull themselves out of their sandy prison. "Uh, Zelda?" Can you tell me what that is over there?" Reese asked the pink girl, popping his head out the window with much restraining. The girl squinted her eyes to look out across the dark desert. All she could see were cacti and rocks, as well as a lumpy blob atop a particularly tall saguaro. She was about to reassure Reese not to worry when the blob moved, slinking down head first to the ground. Like liquid steel, the animal slunk across the desert, swishing its tail quietly across the sand as its eyes glowed green in the moonlight. Micheal and Toni became uneasy and less cooperative to Kiko's commands as something began to frighten them.

"Reese. We've got a cougar on our tail." Zelda said quietly. "Kiko, keep Micheal and Toni steady; if we show the puma we're afraid, he'll pursue us without hesitation."

FOOM!

A flash of red light lit up the night sky, and everyone turned to see Micheal back in his human form, face down in the sand with his oversized cowboy covering the entire upper half of his body. The reins and bit we're still in his mouth as he spat out sand. "What the heck, Micheal! Why'd you change back!" Kiko yelled.

"Don't blame me! I didn't tell the Animatrix to change me back! It usually lasts longer than this!" Micheal shot back. A growl cut their argument short and they glanced back to see the cougar was coming closer, more confident as its lip curled back into a snarl, showing its sharp teeth. "Micheal, change back _now _before we're cougar food." Kiko said slowly and quietly. Micheal slowly reached for the watch and cycled through the list before stopping on the silhouette of a stallion. He then quickly slapped the watch face, the cougar stepping back as red light filled the night once more.

"What the– why the heck did you change into that!?" Kiko roared. Standing (more like towering) in front of her was a giraffe, who was throwing Kiko a death glare as best as a giraffe could do. "He must have mis-transformed. Again." Zelda sighed. "And there's no way a giraffe and horse could pull a stagecoach; we'd go around in circles."

"Why?" Kiko asked in frustration. "They're not that different. One's just taller than the other!"

Zelda rolled her eyes and sighed. Pretty much anyone else on the team would understand why it wouldn't work, but Kiko was the one person who wouldn't. "_Because, _a giraffe's and horse's leg lenths are different, with a giraffe's being much taller. Therefore, the giraffe takes longer strides than the horse does-"

"Zelda! We don't have time for a lecture!" Reese yelled. "Toni, get in the stage coach! Kiko, hook Micheal up to the carriage! Zelda, distract the mountain lion! NOW!"

Everyone quickly scrambled to fill out Reese's command, as the injured nerdling never ordered anyone to do anything, much less yell at them to do it. Then again, they _were_ being hunted by the second heaviest cat in North America. Soon, there was a giraffe hooked up to the carriage, and a full grown horse _inside _it. Even if the horse was slowly changing back into a much smaller girl, that didn't stop from Reese passing out in pain, as the horse's right fore hoof was jabbed right into his nether region.

"Hee-yah!" Kiko cried, snapping the reins. The giraffe took off what seemed to be a slow gallop. The large cowboy hat that had once covered the horse's eyes now looked tiny on the world's tallest animal. "Can't you go any faster?" Kiko yelled angrily. "Giraffes can only go about 30 mph. While horses go much faster, giraffe's a longer stride, which makes them-" Zelda said, but was cut off but Toni.

"Wasn't there a mountain lion after us just a few moments ago?" she yelled up to Zelda. The pink genius looked back to see nothing but desert, which was devoid completely of a certain big cat. Zelda nervously glanced about until she heard a startled scream from the front of the stagecoach. Zelda scrambled to the edge to see the mountain lion right in front of Micheal, Kiko clinging tightly to his neck as he kicked his legs frantically. It was the only thing keeping the predator from pouncing on him and attacking Kiko (Micheal was far too big too take down). Barely even thinking, Zelda grabbed the handle of a heavy suitcase and chucked it at the pumas head. The suitcase hit dead on, and the cat was soon dodging a barrage of suitcases and bags. As Zelda distracted the puma, Micheal lashed out with a fore leg, placing a well aimed blow to the catamount's head, cutting the head clean off from the body. Zelda nearly fainted at the sight before she realized that the mountain lion had been a robot; sparks jumped from torn wires in the androids neck as the body collapsed to the ground, dead.

_**Confessional**_

"I'm starting to like Chris less and less," Kiko frowned. "I mean, killer cougar-bots? What's next, a whole stampede of cattle droids that shoot fire out of their nostrils?" She sighed. "On the bright side, I managed to grab some giraffe hair when I was protecting Micheal. What? You think the big lug was protecting me? I was just playing it up for the cameras."

_**End Confessional**_

"Whew! Glad it's just a robot," Kiko sighed as she jumped back to the driver's seat. "Shall we keep goin' then?" Zelda nodded and jumped up to the roof of the stagecoach and pulled out the map. "Head towards the large cactus patch just north-east of here."

"We won't have to pass through there, right?" Kiko asked as she snapped the reins, sending Micheal off at a steady walk. "We shouldn't have to unless we're in real trouble." Zelda answered.

"What classifies as 'real trouble'?" Reese asked from below her.

"Something like another mountain lion, one of Chris's tricks, or something like that."

"How about the other team?"

Zelda startled at the response and nearly fell of the stagecoach when she turned around to see the Extreme Eagles only a hundred yards off. While their horses probably weren't in the best condition, they had some how managed to make great time during the mountain lion attack, although one of them looked a little worse for wear with several cactus spines and what looked like porcupine quills embedded in his shirt and pants.

"Kiko! Kick it up!" Zelda ordered the woman. For once, Kiko didn't argue as they cracked the reins. Micheal kicked it up to a steady gallop, covering yards as his dinner plate-sized hooves pounded against the dusty trail. "Toni! Change into something to defend the carriage! Giraffe's aren't exactly the fastest long distance runners!" Toni nodded and focused on yet another image in her head.

The first thing to happen was the fur; black, thick, and coarse, it raced over her arms and legs, meeting at the torso and racing to cover her face and back as her hands and feet became thick and leathery. Her jaw bulged forward, bones crunching and cracking as they changed, shaped themselves to match the image in her head. Her usually slim arms swelled as muscles packed themselves on top of each other, her veins expanded. Her delicate fingers lost their delicateness as they became thick and perfect for smashing. Her big toes shrank a little and suddenly moved away from the rest as they became similar to her hands. Her face turned into a black, rubbery mask as her belly became round. With the unfortunate fatness came the massive and broad shoulders and the heavy brow that shaded her eyes.

With a loud roar, Toni pounded her chest and shoved a heavy shoulder into one of the carriage doors, popping it off its hinges and sending to the desert floor behind them as they raced away. Hooting loudly, she grabbed the roof of the door, denting it slightly, and swung herself up to the canopy of the stagecoach next to Zelda, her feet landing with a loud _thud_. Toni grabbed the largest suitcase that was left and held it above her head in a threatening pose as the Eagles came closer, about a dozen yards off. She had to wait until they were close enough or she could miss, even if their horses weren't the best she had seen.

Closer. Closer. _Closer._

Now! Roaring, she hurled the suitcase at the opposite team and hit Alan square in the face, knocking him off his horse. Toni swore she thought the animal was laughing at Alan's misery as the others raced after them. They quickly split up into two teams, Trey and Caroline steering their horses to the stagecoach's right, and Mortisha and Mithcell moving their horses to the left as Maurananei reluctantly turned around to help Alan to his feet. The stagecoach was rocked and jostled as the two teams rammed their horses into the sides of carriage, the horses whinnying in protest.

"Sorry about this, guys! Extra hay and sugar when this is over!" Caroline yelled. She mentally sighed. As much as she loved animals, she was really running up a list of promises and deals with this band of horses that had suffered under the abuse of a sadistic host man. She dodged another suitcase that was thrown at her, ignoring it as it fell open to reveal a pink bra and a stuffed brown dog. "SPOT!" Zelda cried. Before anyone could stop her, she jumped off the roof of the stagecoach and scooped up the stuffed animal, tucking it into her as she rolled along the ground, the carriage pulling away. One more person out of the challenge.

"Toni! Ditch 'em!" Kiko yelled as she snapped the reins. Micheal squealed in protest but sped up, pulling the carriage forward a couple feet. It was good, but not good enough to escape the Eagles. The gorilla on the roof of the stagecoach pounded her chest and heaved another piece of luggage down at the Eagles, hitting Mortisha square in the face. The creepy girl merely laughed at the pain and urged her horse forward. She shakily rose up on her legs, balancing on the saddle of the horse as it rode along. With a quick jump, she landed on the side of the stagecoach, her feet resting on the window sills of the carriage. Before Anuok could pop her feet lose, Mortisha scrambled to the roof of the carriage and tackled Toni. Kiko and the rest of the Eagles watched wide eyed as the two fought each other, Mortisha actually seeming to win.

_**Confessional**_

"I know someone has probably said this before, but _that _girl is _scary!_" Mitchell cried. "If we lose, she's going home. I don't know if I can take anymore night time surprises. Last night she kept on laughing manically in the cave. And I thought _Chris's _laugh was scary."

_**End Confessional**_

"End it already, Mortisha!" Trey yelled. "Quit monkeying around!" he added, drawing a short laugh out of his team. Kiko smiled briefly before a fireball landed on the seat next to her. She cried out and brought up a foot to stop it out, just as Mortisha heaved Toni up on her small shoulders and threw her off the stagecoach's roof. Toni bounced twice off the desert floor and rolled to a stop, unmoving.

"She's on the roof!" Reese cried as the thumps of Mortisha's feet pounded on the roof. Anuok growled and whipped out her daggers. She stood motionless in the carriage as the footsteps came closer and closer to the left side of the carriage. Suddenly, Mortisha swung down from the roof, yelling a battle cry. Before she could swing in and kick Anuok out the other side, the mute girl slashed her daggers across Mortisha's wrists, drawing forth a fountain of red blood. Mortisha yelled in surprise and her grip loosened. She tumbled to the ground, Caroline accidentally running her over as she tumbled past, though Anuok predicted Mortisha didn't mind either incident.

"I'm going in," Trey said to Caroline. "If I don't make it back, don't let anyone have my guitar. Except maybe Micheal. I do owe him for saving it from that yeti." Before Caroline could even say anything else, Trey jumped off his horse and into the stagecoach, grabbing the rim of the stagecoach roof and kicking Anuok square in the chest, sending her out the other side of the stagecoach. Trey let the momentum carry him back outside and then back in where he landed on the floor. He got up and turned to a trembling Reese. "Sorry 'bout this, dude!" Trey yelled as he grabbed the handles of Reese's wheelchair and flung him out the right side of the stagecoach. He heard the rattling crash of the wheelchair clatter against the sand, and the strangled cries of Reese as he landed in a cactus patch.

"Crap," Kiko said under her breath. The Eagles had managed to corral them into the large cactus patch she had been trying to avoid earlier. "Micheal! Keep going and don't stop until we've crossed the finish line! I've got some pests to exterminate." Micheal grunted and kept running, though it was easy to see that he was tiring. Kiko hooked the reins to the driver's seat and climbed onto the roof. She picked up one of the last suitcases that dotted the roof and threw it down at Caroline. The suitcase hit her in the shoulder and she hissed in pain. Another suitcase hit her in the leg and a third struck her horse's rump. "Hold still, will ya!" Kiko yelled in frustration.

"Why on earth would I do that!?" Caroline shot back. Kiko growled and heaved the last suitcase at Caroline, striking her in the left temple and knocking her off her horse. She tumbled to the ground, bouncing off a couple of rocks before rolling to a stop, unmoving. Kiko huffed and swung down into the cabin of the stagecoach to face off against the last member of the Eagles. The two circled off like a pair of hungry lions. Trey unhooked his bass and held in a fashion similar to bat. Kiko frantically glanced around for something, anything to use before deciding on a rusted crowbar that was sitting in the corner of the wagon, unnoticed.

"Any last words?" Kiko hissed. Trey looked worried for a brief second, but the feeling passed when he saw a movement out of the corner of his eye. "Yeah, I've got some: hold on tight."

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, the maniacal host that was Chris McClain and his co-host Chef Hatchet were waiting at the finish line on the North side of the island. The host was still clad in his cowboy outfit while Chef was dressed in a pink country woman's dress, bonnet and fan included. "It's been a while," Chris said nonchalantly. "And from the footage we've been getting, I think we need to liven it up a bit, don't you?" he asked, gesturing to yet another remote with a single red button in its center. Chef grinned evilly and Chris eagerly pressed the button without hesitation. "Lets see how they handle a stampede of cattle-bots!" The host and cook then laughed evilly, their howls and hoots echoing across the desert, causing even the howling of the coyotes to cease.<p>

* * *

><p>"What's goin' on!?" Kiko yelled as the ground rumbled. She suddenly fell to the floor, Trey landing on top of her as she heard a startled grunt from Micheal out front. She dragged herself to the open door of the wagon and looked out in front of them to see a large dust cloud heading their way. It might have been her eyes paying tricks on her, but she swore she saw movement within the dust cloud. Moments later, she was proven right as hundreds upon thousands of robotic cattle stampeded across the desert towards them, flames and smoke shooting out of their laser firing eyes.<p>

_**Confessional**_

"In retrospect, I probably shouldn't have mentioned the robotic cattle," Kiko sighed. "That man just isn't right in the head."

_**End Confessional**_

"Oh, come on!" Kiko cried. The cattle struck with full force, rattling and jostling the carriage with their metallic bodies as they ran past. The droids made mechanical mooing and snorting noises as they rocked them, crashing into Micheal's long legs as they ran past. The giraffe fought his way through the herd, pulling the stagecoach as Kiko and Trey wrestled around inside. "Get off me!" Kiko yelled.

"Why should I!?" Trey shot back, bring his bass up over his head, prepared to swing it down onto Kiko's head. Kiko's eyes widened as the bass swung downward, aimed at her head. Her arms were pinned to her sides, and her legs were useless with Trey on top of her with sweat dripping down his forehead. Kiko glanced around frantically for anything to aid her, when she saw the crowbar she had tried to use earlier. Frantically, she struggled to loosen her right arm to reach for it. She almost had it lose when Trey yelled and the guitar connected with her right temple. Bits of the guitar flew off as the instrument hit Kiko's skull, sending into unconsciousness as Trey got off of her and rolled her lifeless body into the stampede of robots, hardly caring if she made it out or not. He was tired, he was hot, he was sweaty, and he begun to already have had enough of this show. And he was only two episodes in!

_**Confessional**_

"I'll admit, at the time it probably wasn't the wisest decision, nor the best to throw Kiko into a heard of fire breathing, laser shooting cattle robots," Trey admitted as he tuned his bass guitar. "At the time, I was angry. I was mad. Sometimes, I do things that I regret later. And while I may not exactly _like _Kiko, she probably didn't deserve what she got. Then again, it was pretty hilarious now that I think about it."

_**End Confessional**_

"Yah!" Trey roared as he cracked the reins and jerked them to the right. Micheal grunted and turned in the direction he had ordered as dramatic music played in the background (it always seemed to follow them around no matter where they went, even if it didn't match the situation). The stagecoach raced across the dunes with the angry musician constantly snapping the reins and yelling for the giraffe to go faster and faster. Minutes later, they skidded to a stop across the finish line. Micheal collapsed to the ground, the Animatrix changing him back as Trey hopped down from the seat of the wagon with victory all over his face, as well as sweat.

"And we have a winner!" Chris announced. "Trey and the Extreme Eagles win!" Trey pumped a fist as the rest of his team, battered and bruised as they were, rode up to the finish line atop their horses, the Rhinos only a couple minutes behind them. Toni had a comatose Kiko slung over her gorilla shoulders as she knuckle walked up to the rest of her team. Reese, while banged up, had been wheeled along by Zelda, who was still clutching her stuffed animal tightly. "As your reward, the Eagles will get to spend yet another night in the Hangout of Awesomeness! And, you will receive special foot massages from our interns!" Chris said as a couple of the interns frowned and glared at him (so much for the night off). "Rhino! You'll be sending someone home tonight! And Eagles, I want you to be there too. I've got a surprise for everyone." the host chuckled, bringing looks of concern and worry across the faces of the campers that were still awake.

* * *

><p>"Tonight, one of your butts will be launched out of my life, and hopefully to the end of yours." Chris said in a cheery voice. The contestants looked nervously between each other.<p>

_**Confessional**_

"Who am I sending home?" Toni asked. "Probably one of the two fighters who didn't win their matches. And while Reese technically never stood a chance, Micheal could have easily beaten Caroline." she said with suspicion.

_**Change Confessional**_

"Who am I voting for?" Zelda asked. "The logical choice would be the weak link on our team: Reese. While Micheal didn't win his match, his Animatrix makes him invaluable to the team. Reese unfortunately, can't take a hit. As much as I like the guy, I don't think he can take another hit."

_**End Confessional**_

Chris then put on a serious face, as he held up a plate with five gooey marshmallows on it. The Eagles stood on the sidelines behind him with eager looks on their faces. One less person to fight for the million. "When I call your name, come up and receive your marshmallow." Chris said.

"Toni." The shape-shifter sighed with relief and jumped up from her seat to grab her marshmallow from the platter, sticking her tongue out at the Eagles as she went to sit back down on her barrel.

"Kiko and Anuok." the two girls smiled and each walked up to get their marshmallows, Kiko limping a but more than Anuok as they each went to sit back down.

"Zelda." The pink girl squealed with delight as she uncrossed her fingers and raced up to the plate and snatched a marshmallow off, kissing it lightly as she sat back down.

"We're down to the final two," Chris breathed. "Reese, you're here because you can't take a hit. Or much of anything else, really." the host laughed as Reese sighed heavily. "And Micheal! You're here because you lost your match to a weakling." Caroline shot Chris a look, but the host ignored it as he did most other things.

"And the camper going home tonight is . . . ." Chris said, pausing for dramatic effect. Reese was quivering in his chair, beads of sweat dripping down his bandaged face as Chris held up the final marshmallow, seeming to contemplate who to give it to. Micheal was equally nervous, crossing his fingers as his Animatrix sparked. The Rhinos watched in horror as Chris brought his finger down between the two boys, switching between which one it would land on. The Eagles looked on his anticipation at the thought of another of their enemies taking the Torpedo of Shame.

"Reese."

The nerdling gasped as Micheal caught his marshmallow, a look of remorse and happiness on his face; happy because he was still in the game, and sad because a friend of his was going home. Reese sighed and began to wheel himself down to the docks when Chris cleared his throat. "Unfortunately Reese, you will not be going home tonight. Tonight, is a reward challenge!" The Eagles groaned in frustration while Reese was about to pass out from relief. "And as a bonus, I will need two volunteers from both teams!"

"Ooh! Ooh! Me and Trey! Me and Trey!" Mortisha cried. Trey looked at her as if she were crazy (which she probably was) and seemed to be contemplating whether he should smash his guitar over her head or not. Chris nodded and turned to the Rhinos. "Any takers?" he asked, flashing his maniacal grin.

Before they could move, everyone but Kiko and Zelda quickly got up from their seats and ran behind Chris, leaving the two girls sitting there as Chris's evil grin broadened. Even Reese had made a speedy get away, curtsey of Anuok who figured Reese wouldn't be able to take another hit.

"Kiko and Zelda! Thank you for volunterring." said Chris. "Now then, the members of each team that have been selected, will now be _switching _teams!"

"WHAT!?" everyone cried in unison. While Kiko looked ticked off, the promise of a good foot rub and a night in the Hangout of Awesomeness did sound nice. "That means we get to enjoy the rewards too, right?" Kiko asked, pointing between Zelda and herself.

"Nope! You _will _be joining their team tonight, but you will _not _be enjoying the rewards." Chris announced with an evil grin. "You'll have to win next time!" Kiko frowned, but said nothing else as the edited teams dispersed.

"So maybe it wasn't as dramatic as I had hoped," Chris smiled to the camera. "Whatever! Will Kiko build her bootleg Animatrix? Will Reese ever man up? Can Maurananei _ever _win Chef over? All these questions and more, probably won't be answered next time! On Total! Drama! Pahkitew's Vengeance!"

**And here's the third chapter of Pahkitew's Vengeance! Let me know what you think in the reviews below, and if you have any ideas or requests for the story, feel free to PM me!**

**For those that are wondering "**死んだ肉**"****means 'dead meat'. And for all those Japanese people reading this story, I apologize if this is incorrect. I used google translate, as I know no Japanese. I apologize in advance for foreign languages in this story.**

**Adios!**


	4. Losers of the Caribbean

**I'm back, baby! And I have exciting news! Tsukuyomu has finally finished the sketches of all the Oc's in this story! So if you're curious as to what your character may look like, head on over to deviantart art and type in Shi-no-Kogo into the search engine to pull up the image of your character. Feel free to comment on it and the other pictures and let my loyal friend know what you think**

**Here's the next chapter in the Pahkitew's Vengeance series! Will Kiko and Zelda survive the team swap? Can Maurananei and Kiko ever stop fighting? Will Kiko get her Animatrix? When will I stop asking you these meaningless questions and get to the story?**

**Probably now!**

**Forgot to mention this; I don't own Total Drama! All I own are Micheal and Mortisha! All the other characters belong to their respective creators!**

"Last time on Total Drama: Pahkitew's Vengeance! We decided to head out West for some good old fashioned fun! And by 'heading out' West, I mean changing the entire island to suit my _very _dangerous needs! The campers first battled it out in a bar-less bar brawl before racing across the desert in a wild stagecoach chase that resulted in every member of the Rhinos getting tossed into the dirt as the Eagles soared to victory! The Rhinos were about to send Reese home, but it turns out it was a reward challenge! And as an even sicker twist, Trey and Mortisha swapped teams with Kiko and her lackey, Zelda! Will they survive the switch, or will they rip each others guts out?" Chris said with a sick smile on his face. "Find out, on Total! Drama! Pahkitew's Vengeance!"

_**(theme song plays)**_

"AAAAAWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"Shut up!

"Can it!"

"Put a sock in it!"

It was just after the last elimination; the campfire had been put out as the teams went their separate ways, the Eagles to the Hangout of Awesomeness and the Rhinos back to their tree house for a good night's rest. Unfortunately, things weren't exactly turning out well. While Trey had settled in comfortably, taking the top bunk over Micheal's (in case the Sasquatchanakwa tried to steal it again), Mortisha hadn't been so easy to sooth. She was now currently on top of the roof, howling at the full moon at the top of her lungs, keeping everyone in the arboreal abode awake.

"Argh! When Chris send we would be getting new room mates, I didn't know he meant _annoying _room mates!" Toni growled as she covered her ears with her pillow. The others had followed her example, shoving everything from their pillows and blankets to their shirts and stinky socks into their ears in an attempt to block out the noise. "Knock it off!" Trey yelled. The howling stopped, much to everyone's relief, and the sound of Mortisha's footsteps could be heard on the roof. Her head soon appeared hanging upside down from one of the windows. "Not until Micheal and Toni come here and howl with me." she insisted. The two shape-shifters glanced at each other before sighing. "Fine," Micheal said with a yawn. "But after this, you don't ever do again, comprendo?" Mortisha vigorously shook her head, and the two teens went to the window to climb up onto the roof.

Anuok sighed with relief and turned over in her bunk. Reese, unable to actually sleep in a bed, lay back in his wheel chair and attempted to fall asleep. Trey, knowing what was coming, covered his ears with two pillows as the footsteps on the roof echoed through the room. He saw the night sky turn red for a brief moment, signaling that Micheal had activated the Animatrix. A few minutes passed in silence, and Trey thought that the two shape-shifters had turned on Mortisha, silencing her for the night.

He was however, wrong.

"AAAAAAAAAWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"AAAAARRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"HHH-RRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!"

"Why!?" Toni wailed as she shoved her face into her pillow.

* * *

><p>It was early the next morning. Caroline blinked open her eyes and yawned quietly as she got up from her comfortable spot on a stained sofa. The piece of furniture had once been spotless, but after a night of hard partying and video game playing, it was now covered in orange and blue stains. Caroline ignored it however as she sat up; the couch would once again be spotless the next time they came into the Hangout of Awesomeness. She looked around the dark room, with its two giant flat screen TVs taking up an entire wall. One of them was rolling through the credits of a muted action movie with Maurananei and Mitchell out cold in front it. Alan was sprawled out on the floor with an Xbox controller in one limp hand. Caroline looked at the screen to see a paused game of <em>Bioshock.<em> She had surprisingly enjoyed the game after Alan asked her for the umpteenth time to play with him.

Quietly, she tip toed across the floor, avoiding the numerous chip bags and empty soda cans. How only four people could make a such a mess was beyond her. Wincing at the loud rumbling sound, she pulled the garage door to the Hangout up and stepped out into the cool morning air. She sucked in a breath of fresh air and rolled the door shut before walking out through the woods. She seemingly headed off in a random direction, toward the 1,001 ft tall cliff. Instead of talking the long trek up it, she instead walked around it, toward it's base she knew she would find a shabby building she had been told about yesterday. She quickly found it, about fifty yards away from the shoreline where the waves gently lapped. The stables (more like shack) were almost unrecognizable. Its shingled roof had holes in it with mold and vines draped everywhere. The walls were falling apart, holes large enough for an angry badger to pass through, but not for a panicked horse. The doors were falling off their hinges, letting in the cold night air, and the smell was absolutely noxious. She sucked in a deep breath and walked through the broken door frame and into the stable, where three stalls sat on either side of the hallway. In the back was an empty space where one might pile hay or stock horse shoes and saddles.

"_Hey, look who decided to show up." _a tired voice with a deep Boston accent rang out. Caroline smiled. "Morning, Fracture. I thought I might get an early start on mucking out the stalls." The old horse clopped over to the closed door of his stall. _"You got the goods you promised, Cupcake?" _he asked. Caroline nodded and reached into her sweatshirt pocket to pull out a bag of sugar cubes she stole from the Hangout of Awesomeness. She scooped out a handful of sugar cubes and held them out for the broken horse, who took them greatfully. _"Delicious." _Fracture sighed. Caroline's smile broadened. "I'll hand out more once I've cleaned this place up a bit." she said as she put the sugar cubes in her sweatshirt pocket and slipped the article of clothing off to reveal a white tank top. She hung the sweatshirt in one of the rafters and grabbed a rusty shovel that lay off a wall.

"Need any help?" a voice asked her. Caroline jerked her head up to see Micheal leaning in the doorway. "How did you find me?" Caroline asked him, holding out the shovel like a weapon, just in case. Micheal smiled and walked up to her. "It's hard to escape the vision of a hawk," he chuckled. "So, what're you doing?" Caroline thought it over. On one hand, he could help shorten the workload ten fold. On the other, he could easily hurt her, though she saw nothing to indicate so. "I made a deal with these horses last challenge. Since they helped us win, I'm gonna nurse them back to health. Poor things need it." she told him, gesturing to the six horses in the stables.

"I'll say," Micheal said as he grabbed a pitchfork and swung it over a shoulder. "I'll shovel out hay. You gonna shovel out dung?" Caroline nodded as she opened the door to Fracture's stall and led the horse outside. She quickly let the other horses lose outside, where they could graze and run around like they should be. The two teens then set to work, with Micheal shoveling the stale and rancid hay into a pile while Caroline scooped waste into another to be taken care of later. "So, how are you getting getting along with your new team?" Caroline asked Micheal as she scooped up a large pile of unrecognizable brown stuff. Micheal shrugged his shoulders as he tossed hay over his shoulder. "Eh, they're okay. Mortisha kept us up all last night, though."

Caroline sighed. "I know. She gave me nightmares the first week she was here, constantly cackling in our cave. What'd she do?"

"She made me and Toni howl at the moon with her. Unfortunately, the Animatrix turned me into a tiger instead of a wolf. I don't know what's wrong with this thing. It's been acting up lately." Micheal said.

"What's wrong with it? If you ask me, you got something cool on your wrist." Caroline grinned.

Micheal smiled back. "Yeah, it's pretty awesome. It just keeps turning me into the wrong thing. And my transformations don't last as long as before." he sighed, and went back to dredging hay. Caroline then felt sympathy for the boy shoveling muck next to her. The one thing that made him special was on the fritz. What might happen if it was destroyed forever?

"So, what's it like to be a super hero?" Caroline asked him as they moved onto the next stall. She could hear the steady thumping of horse hooves outside pounding against the grass and dirt. "I dunno know. Kinda good, kinda bad. I sometimes get cut on some slack if I don't turn in my homework on time. You wouldn't _believe _how many times I've had to skip out on homework to stop a runaway train or something. And then there's the fact that everyone wants to ride on your back somewhere . . ."

Caroline was about to ask more when a loud whistling sound pierced the air. Before she could even ask what it was, Micheal dropped his pitch fork and dashed out of the stable, without even an explanation. Caroline sighed and went back to slinging poop. "Just when I thought I had a friend . . ." she groaned.

* * *

><p>"Knock it off, you <strong>BEEP! BEEP!<strong>" Zelda yelled as she smacked Alan over the head with a stick. The boy was persistent, and was once again stalking Zelda. She had been taking a morning walk after spending all night working on the prototype Animatrix that Kiko had relentlessly ordered her to create. And while she had rested by a creek that ran through the forest, Alan had appeared out of nowhere and had tried to molest her again, though he had been a bit more reluctant than last time, staying at a safe distance as Zelda defended herself. "C'mon! I just want to talk!" Alan cried as he was bashed over the head by the stick again. Before he could speak again, Zelda grabbed a small whistle that hung on a chain around her neck and blew on it, sending out a shrill whistle into the air. "What does that do?" he asked nervously, backing away from her slowly.

RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE!

Alan gulped and turned around to see a mass of grey charging through the forest at a brisk pace, flattening logs and plants that stood in it's path. It enormous, with wide sides and a box shaped head with short, powerful legs connected to a hulking bulk. Two sharp horns sprouted up from the creature's face. Alan screamed and scrambled to his feet, just as the rhinoceros hit him full force, twisting its head up and sending him across the creek and into a tree. Cries of pain could be heard as he tumbled down and landed in a large thorn patch at the bottom of the tree.

Zelda sighed with relief and turned away from Alan to watch the rhinoceros vanish in a red light to reveal Micheal with a smirk on his face. "He'll be feeling that tomorrow," he chuckled. "You okay?" Zelda nodded her head. "I managed to fend him off with a tree branch before you arrived. Thanks for the whistle by the way." Micheal grinned. "Anytime." he said as he walked back the way he came without a word. Zelda smiled and sighed. The Watch Bearing Hero had given Zelda the whistle last night as both a parting gift, and a way to call for help if Alan tried anymore tricks again.

_**Confessional**_

"I'm lucky to have Micheal as a friend," Zelda said with a big smile. "Always loyal and friendly. At least, to those who don't grind his nerves. I just wish I didn't have to keeping lying to him about the Animatrix project I've been working on. He's gonna be freakin' **BEEP! w**hen he finds out."

_**Change Confessional**_

"ARGH! Again!" Alan roared as he pulled out another thorn that was embedded in his butt. "Once again, that Watch Wearing Jerk keeps me from being with my girl! Ergh! I need someway to get rid of him. I can't eliminate him; he's far too useful and popular with his team, and I can't even lay a finger on him without getting maimed." Alan whined until a thought occurred to him. "Maybe it's time I cashed in on that deal I made with Maurananei." he chuckled, rubbing his hands mischievously until he hissed in pain, pulling out yet, another thorn from his palm.

_**End Confessional**_

Zelda sighed. The guilt was slowly eating away at her, faster than Chef's gumbo. Kiko had made her spend the better part of the night working on the alien watch. Her fingers were cramping up after attaching and inserting wires and tubes, her mind incredibly sore from calculating equations and statistics in her head. She had finally managed to (hopefully) get the prototype working around 2:00 in the morning and slept four hours of restless sleep on the cold, cave floor. She could barely keep her eyes open as she sighed once more and lay down on the rock, hoping to catch some Zs before the challenge would begin.

**BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!**

Apparently she wasn't going to get anymore sleep. She groaned and sat up on her rock, wincing and covering her ears as the shrill squeaking of the loud speakers rang across the island. "Arrr, mateys! Get the anchors out of yer pants and meet me at the docks in five minutes, ye landlubbers!" Chris yelled out in a horrible pirate imitation. Kiko moaned and got up from her rock, shuffling towards the docks like a rotting zombie.

By the time she got there, everyone else was already waiting for her, Kiko (among others) tapping her foot impatiently on the decaying dock. Zelda yawned and staggered over to the young woman, exhausted. "Where were you?" Kiko hissed. Zelda yawned again. "Out for a walk. I finished the watch, if that's what you're wondering. We can begin testing after the challenge." she said. Kiko frowned. "But I want to try it _now!_" she whined, similar to the way a bratty baby might do if they were denied a cookie. Zelda rolled her eyes. "Look, would you rather be stuck as some hideous freak with no way to change back?" she asked. Kiko sighed. "No. But I want it done soon."

"Fine. Whatever." Zelda yawned as Chris walked up onto the dock. The host was dressed in a frilly, white pirate shirt under a black vest. A red sash was wrapped around his waist, with black captain boots on his feet and a black captain's hat with a skull and crossbones. A plastic parrot sat on his shoulder as he flashed his famous smile to the camera, drawing shivers out of the contestants. "Today's challenge be pirate themed, me hearties!" Chris said.

"Are you just taking worn out ideas from last seasons, or have you just run out of good ideas?" Micheal asked with a frown, drawing several chuckles from the cast. Chris frowned and pulled out a walkie talkie. "Chef! I need a cannonball about 10 degrees North, 21 ft high." he said into the device. A dull _boom_ sounded off in the distance, and a few seconds later, a large cannonball soared through the air and toward the cast, hitting Micheal square in the gut, sending him to the dock and knocking the air out of him.

"_Touche._" he groaned from the pier as the cannonball rolled off his stomach and into the lake.

"Now then, is there anything else anyone would like to add?" Chris added with a look. Everyone shook their heads as Micheal staggered to his feet. "Any-who, today you'll be searching for the pieces to a couple of pirate ships, of which you will then assemble. There are six pieces to each ship. Each piece is stamped with that team's symbol, so as not to get mixed up. The first team to find all their pieces, get them back to the beach and assemble them will win a leg up in the next challenge. Are there any questions?" Chris asked. Everybody raised their hands, but as usual Chris ignored them. "No? Alright! GO!" Chris yelled, sounding off his air horn and sending the team's scattering.

* * *

><p>"Lets split up into teams of two. That way we'll be able cover more ground." Trey suggested as they ran through the forest. Everyone quickly agreed and separated, Anuok and Toni going off in one direction, Trey and Mortisha in another, and Micheal and Reese (who still strapped into a wheelchair) went off into another. "Any ideas about where we should look, Anuok?" Toni asked the silent girl. Anuok held up a finger and closed her eyes for a moment before pointing North, toward the mountains. Toni looked at the steep cliffs and cursed under he breath. "I think I've got something to help. Give me a sec." she said as she concentrated on an image in her head. The changes began quickly.<p>

Her pupils were the first to change, becoming golden brown in color. Bony knobs appeared on the sides of her head as thin hairs began to sprout all over her body, making her look like she was wearing a gorilla suit. Her face bulged forward into a wet muzzle as he teeth became flat, perfect for chewing tough plants. His fingers were sucked into her hands, leaving only the finger nails. They quickly fused together into a hard covering that covered her knuckles. The same thing happened to her feet as another wave of hair sprouted from her body. Her shoulders swelled as muscles packed themselves on, the bony knobs on her head becoming longer and curving upward, ending in a sharp point as the final of movement of long, shaggy hair covered her six ft tall frame. The final part was a short, furry tail popping out of the end of her spine, completing the large yak that stood before Anuok. The bovid knelt to the ground and gestured with her head for Anuok to climb on her back. The animal snorted and took off at a slow pace through the ever fading woods toward the mountains, Anuok hanging onto tufts of fur as they traveled.

* * *

><p>"Lets split up into one person teams," Kiko suggested. "That way, we'll find what we need faster."<p>

"Are you kidding me? This island is a death trap!" Maurananei argued. "We need to at least go in pairs!"

"Why should I listen to you? All you ever do is try to impress Chef!" Kiko shot back. "And besides, I'm the adult here, so you all have to listen to me!"

The rest of the Eagles protested, but Kiko stood firmly. She was the one with more life experience in the game, therefore she should be in charge! Eventually, she had them all set off in their own directions, Caroline toward the mountains, Maurananei the beach, Mitchell the swamp, Alan the East part of the forest, Zelda the West, with Kiko scouting the area that passed as a kitchen/eating area. Kiko gave a smirk. As if there was anything in the kitchen area to look for. She had craftily tricked her team mates into doing the work for her, and all she had to do was kick back and relax. "Now I can try out that watch Zelda was telling me about." she said to herself as she tip toed into the woods.

Meanwhile, Alan had been 'searching' for any of the ship pieces. At least, if anyone asked him that was what they were doing. In reality, he was silently heading toward the beach where he could easily find Maurananei. It was time to put his plan into action. He found the girl sitting sullenly on a rock, drawing something in the sand with a stick. "Hey, Maurananei!" Alan shouted. The girl jolted up and held her stick in a threatening manner before she realized who it was. "Oh. It's _you._" she huffed as she sat back down the rock with a sigh.

"What's wrong?" he asked as he walked over to her to see her sketch of Chef in the sand. While he hated to admit it, she had some good drawing skills. Maurananei sighed. "I just can't get close to my Chefy Wefy. He always runs, and Chris is doing everything in his power to keep me away from him. Which is a _lot _of power." she said with a pout. Alan sat down on the rock next to her with a sly smile on his face. "I've got a proposition for you. Do you want to hear it?" he asked.

"Does it get me my Chefy Wefy?" Maurananei asked in a sad tone. Alan smiled mischievously. "Actually, yes. It does." he said. Maurananei immediately perked up after hearing that. Alan continued once he was sure he had her full attention. "As you may have noticed, I'm trying to get close to Zelda," "Pft. Good luck with that, Romeo." Maurananei interrupted. Alan frowned but continued along. "As you may have also noticed, I can't get anywhere near her without getting mauled by her bodyguard, Micheal."

"How exactly does this get me my Chefy Wefy?" Maurananei asked, edging her stick closer to Alan's throat. The boy gulped, and his Adam's apple slid barely past the sharp end of the twig. "I overheard you saying you needed some help getting back at Chris last challenge, correct?" he asked. Maurananei frowned but nodded her head. "Well, all you have to do it convince Micheal to help you. If Chris were to somehow be unable to host the show, he wouldn't be here to protect Chef from you. And while you two distract him, I can work on Zelda without having to worry about Micheal. Understand?" Alan asked. Maurananei lowered the stick and thought it over. One of her team mates was offering a deal that could get her together with the love of her life, as well as his. Could this plan blow up in her face? Absolutely.

"What happens if I decide not to go along with your plan?" she asked, raising her stick again. Alan smirked. He had her right where he wanted her. "I'm pretty sure you remember the events of the hunting challenge, correct? Lets just say I saw you and your new _boyfriend_ have a make out session." he said with a sly smile. Maurananei stopped cold, and her expression turned to something similar to a volcano blowing up. But, she knew there was nothing she could do about it. He had made an offer she couldn't simply refuse, even if she wanted too.

_**Confessional**_

"Do I trust him? No." Maurananei growled. "Do I like his plan? Yes. If it gets me together with Chefy Wefy, I'm all game. And the other factor he threw in sealed the deal." she said with displeasure. "Stupid little **BEEP!**

_**End Confessional**_

"Deal." Maurananei said, taking Alan's hand and shaking it. Alan grinned. "Pleasure doing business with you." Maurananei gritted her teeth and smacked him over the head with the stick, heading off into the woods to put the plan into motion. Alan couldn't stop smiling. Everything was coming together.

* * *

><p>"Do ya see anything yet, Reese?" Micheal asked the small boy. Reese shook his head. "Nope. Sorry." Micheal sighed and pushed the wheelchair forward, cursing when the front wheel got stuck against another root. He sighed and pulled the chair back and pushed it forward again, Reese's brown hair bouncing up as he rolled over the root. "Sorry I'm not much use," Reese sighed.<p>

"Ah, don't worry about it. I've met people who've been in much worse situations than you've been." Micheal told him. "I sometimes work with the disabled kids in my school. They're always a hoot to be around with." he laughed. Reese smiled when something caught his eye. Hidden under a large thorn bush was a large steering wheel bronze spokes and handles on a round wooden frame. "I found one!" he exclaimed. Micheal rushed over to the thorn bush and, after much cursing, dug the wheel out. "Yes!" he cried in triumph. "It's ours!" he yelled, pointing a sticker of a purple rhino snorting angrily as it pawed the ground. Reese cheered as Micheal stuck the steering wheel on the back of the wheelchair, the spokes hanging on the handles. They moved on, searching for more pieces.

"Soo, Reese? How do ya like the island so far?" Micheal asked, trying to make conversation to end the silence. Reese shrugged as best as he could. "I don't know. I've made some pretty cool friends like you and Anuok, so that helps a little. I just, I don't know, feel useless sometimes." he sighed. "You've got that cool watch on your wrist, Zelda is super smart, Anuok can read the future, Toni can change into animals, Caroline can talk to animals, Mitchell can control fire, Mortisha's immune to pain, Trey has a super powered guitar, and Maurananei can break every bone in your body before you even realize it," he listed off. "I just feel a little pathetic and useless around everybody. I'm the only normal one here." he said with another heavy sigh.

"Don't feel bad, dude." Micheal said with a little cheer. "Just because we're all freaks doesn't mean your alone. I mean seriously, just because I can change into weird creatures doesn't mean I don't like to play video games like a normal dude. Just because Trey has a super powered guitar doesn't mean he wants to play normal music. And just because Caroline can talk to animals doesn't mean she wants to talk to other people. You see what I'm getting at here?" he asked. Reese nodded his head. "Thanks. I needed that." he said with a grin. "And I'm pretty sure you need some ice after you took that cannonball to the gut. Micheal laughed. "Shut up," he said lightly as he pushed them towards the mountains.

* * *

><p>"Found one!" Mortisha said with excitement. She had Trey had decided to search on the other side of the island, with Mortisha swinging from tree to tree like an excited monkey while Trey remained on the ground. "Finally." the musician sighed. "Where is it?" he called up. Mortisha swung up to the highest branch of a pine tree and took a look at where she had last seen the piece they were looking for. "On the beach stuck between some boulders!" he yelled down after a few moments. Trey set off for the beach at a jog, pumping arms as his bass slapped against his back. He stumbled down a steep incline before it smoothed out onto crystal clear sand. He skidded to a stop after a dozen yards to see what looked like the hull of a ship stuck fast between some large rocks that looked as if they had been there for ages. He quickly pulled out his guitar and was about to let out another sonic howl to shatter thr rocks when Mortisha scurried up to and heaved it over her head with ease. "No worries, Trey! They're plastic! See?" she yelled as she easily chucked her boulder into the lake and watched it float away. Trey pouted and put his guitar away as Mortisha disposed of the other slab.<p>

_**Confessional**_

"Normally, I would say that everything can except homework can be solved with a sonic blast," Trey said with a heavy sigh. "Oh, well. I can try in the next part of the challenge."

_**End Confessional**_

* * *

><p>Anuok sucked in another deep breath as she rode up the mountain. The air was surprisingly thin up there, and made the silent girl more than just dizzy. Toni in her yak form however, didn't seem to mind at all as she trudged up the cliff with ease. The trees had long since thinned out and looked like a shaggy green carpet down below them. The lake was just a little ways away from the forest with a thin strip of white sand separating them. Anuok sucked in another breath and realized Toni had stopped, jerking towards something with a horn. Anuok followed her point to see a large, thick pole with a thinner one nailed up towards the top. A large white cloth bound with ropes hung from the small of the poles, and a bucket big enough for a person to sit inside was staked to the top. Anuok pumped a fist and jumped off the yak's back and ran over to what looked like a ship's mast. She quickly checked for the Rhino's symbol and found it stuck to the sail. She found a coil of rope that Chris had been kind enough to leave behind and tied both ends to the smaller pole, looping the rest of the rope around Toni's horns and neck. Anuok then jumped back on the yak and urged her down the mountain, dragging the mast at a slow pace. The large piece of equipment knocked loose some boulders that tumbled down the side of the cliff, but both of the cast mates ignored it. After all, what were the odds of someone else being on the same mountain as them?<p>

* * *

><p>Caroline heaved another sigh as she trudged along the cliff side in the hopes of discovering a piece of her team's ship. So far, no such luck. Once again, she had been ditched to be left alone by those around her. While Micheal was a good friend, and Maurananei and been supporting her every step of the way like a big sister, she still felt lonely. She glumly kicked a pebble aside and watched it tumble down the mountain side. A sudden noise caught her attention and she glanced up to see approximately two tons of rock falling right toward her! "AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" she cried as she instinctively crouched down and covered her head. She expected the rocks to pulverize her brittle body to dust when she felt something heavy slam into her, taking both of them over the side of the cliff as the rubble tumbled after them. Caroline was screaming at the top of her lungs as she and the mysterious person were sent into a free fall. The air was knocked out of her as she felt a sudden jolt, with the world shaking around her. She squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the incident to end when everything fell silent. For a moment she did nothing until she cracked open an eye. Wherever she was, it was dark. Not dark enough to be pitch black, but dark enough that she trouble seeing around her. What she <em>could <em>see was a wall of dark green on all sides, with a hard, hollow plating beneath her knees. Her breathing was heavy as she tried to figure out where she was when she felt the leathery walls above her move, folding up and down to release her. She blinked for a moment as the sunlight blinded her for a brief moment. Then she gasped.

She was lying on the stomach of a large animal bearing great resemblance to a giant turtle. Eight large holes were lay on the outer ring of the creature's shell, and Caroline panicked before she realized that they weren't injuries. Two large flippers nearly as tall at the creature itself lay splayed out on either side of the body. Two stumpy legs with three claws were stuck near the bottom of the shell with dull brown spots on the knees and flippers. The head of the animal was seemingly jammed inside the shell without any sign of it coming out. The creature's eyes were half open as a low groaned escaped it's beak-like mouth. "Uuuuuugh. That normally doesn't hurt so much." he croaked. Caroline gasped when she saw the fanged symbol on the being's chest. "Micheal!" she cried.

The turtle, Micheal, waved a flipper. "Ahh, don't worry about me. I've been through worse." he mumbled half awake. He planted his flippers on the pile of rocks beneath and tried to pull himself up, wincing as he sat up. "Ahh, scratch that last statement." he moaned. "I think my shell's cracked. You mind taking a look?" he asked her. Caroline jerked her head, worry in her eyes as she crawled off of Micheal's stomach and around to his domed back. She winced as she saw the deep cracks in the creature's shell. "Yeah, it's definitely cracked." she said. Micheal sighed. "I was afraid of that. Looks like gonna be out for about an hour."

"Doesn't it normally take longer for something like that to heal?" Caroline asked.

"Yeah. _Normally. _The Animatrix heals these kinds of wounds more quickly. If I transform before the injuries healed, I'll just experience some mild swelling and pain in that region. Plus, I'm a Tolkobee. They're fast healers and very durable." Micheal reassured her. "You should probably get back to hunting." he said as he lied down and closed his eyes. Before long he was asleep.

Caroline sighed with relief and stood up, looking back and forth between the towering cliff and the dozing creature. She quickly made a choice and bent down to the creature's face and gave a light kiss to his forehead before running off into the woods, a sense of worry, confusion, and giddiness swirling in her head.

_**Confessional**_

"I don't know why I did it," Caroline said with nervousness. "I mean, sure he _did _save my life, and he _is _kind of cute. But what would my team think!?" she panicked, practically hyperventilating.

_**Change Confessional**_

"Yeah, I saw Caroline kiss Micheal." Reese said with a smirk. "I won't hold her against it though. It's actually kind of cute, her having a crush on him."

_**End Confessional**_

* * *

><p>Kiko silently stalked through the forest, diving behind bushes and shrubs whenever she thought she heard voices. She knew Zelda would be lurking nearby, searching for a piece of their ship, so that she had to be careful. If the girl ever figured out what she was attempting, she might cut the project all together and leave the young woman without an advantage whatsoever. After what seemed like agonizing hours, she finally reached the cave her team mates had slept in the night before. She dove into the cavern and immediately set for a pile of rocks. She quickly removed them to reveal a sturdy wooden crate turned over so the open top was face down, protecting the contents inside. Kiko lifted the crate and set it down quietly as she looked at the object lying on the stone floor.<p>

It was bulky instead of small and smooth like Micheal's Animatrix. Then again, it was a prototype, and Zelda hadn't yet designed it for style, just for purpose. The main color scheme was purple in contrast to Micheal's red, with the same fanged image on the face of the watch. Little lights blinked along the thick wrist band as Kiko picked it up and looked it over. After she didn't find any kind of security measure on it, she slipped the loose watch onto her left wrist and yelped in surprise when it moved like liquid steel to fit itself accordingly to her wrist, shrinking in size to fit perfectly. Kiko grinned and tapped the watch face, the familiar looking hologram popping up to meet her. She cycled through the list, excited at the many transformations she could possibly try out, but was disappointed when she discovered it had no more than five available transformations. "Note to self: gather more samples." she said to herself as she rolled over the silhouette of a proud eagle and elegant giraffe for the eighth time. She finally settled on the image of a growling bear, deciding to go with the fiercest animal in the arsenal. She tapped the image and the activation button came up as the face plate slid back.

She pressed the button and was engulfed in a purple light.

And then she screamed.

* * *

><p>"If I were a piece of a pirate ship, where would I hide?" Mitchell wondered aloud to himself. He tried to ignore the squishy feeling between his toes as he trudged through the swamp, the mud sucking at his feet. He had long sense lost his shoes to the muck under the swamp, and his pants and shirt was covered in mud and slime. He thought about flying over the swamp on jets of flame, by the high amount of methane in the air made that idea too risky. So he had had to settle for walking and wading through the brackish waters of the marsh, the mosquitoes eating him alive as he searched.<p>

"Agh! Stupid bugs!" he yelled, slapping his face in an attempt to swat away a mosquito. A sudden growling noise sounded to his left and Mitchell turned to see something dive below the surface. He now took more cautious steps, certain that he was being hunted by something that had most likely been set by Chris. He was so busy watching his back that he didn't even notice a large cannon until the barrel hit him straight in the gut. As he gasped, trying to suck air back into his lungs, another growl sounded, this time to his right. And then in front of him. And then behind him. And he soon found out what was making the noises.

Rising out of the water in a perfect circle around him and the cannon were at least a dozen alligators, all looking exceptionally hungry and nasty today. Several licked their chops as they imagined dining on the small boy in front of them as he lit a hand ablaze. With any luck they would be eating their dinner cooked for once. Mitchell, not one to actually _want _to be eaten by alligators, decided to forgo the warning he had told himself and let a ball of fire form in his hand. He slung in angrily at an alligator, hitting it square in the face and sending it crashing through a mangrove tree. One down, eleven to go. Then, as one, the alligators attacked! Their jaws snapping shut like bear traps, they rushed him, their reptilian bodies churning the murky water of the swamp in froth as they lunged at Mitchell, pulling him under the water. Bubbles floated to the surface as one, two alligators were set back, but Mitchell did not surface. Another alligator was sent through a row of mangrove of trees and out of the fight, but Mitchell still hadn't risen, and the bubbles were becoming less and less frequent until they stopped all together.

* * *

><p>Alan dove behind a bush. He sniffed the air, and a smile crept across his face; he could smell her. For the past half hour he had been stalking her through the woods like a predator, staying just out of sight as she walked through the forest, completely oblivious to him. No matter how fast she turned around, he was dive into the brush, out of sight. Smiling, he took a peek out from behind the bush and nearly had a heart attack when he couldn't fin her anywhere. <em>Hoe she disappear so fast? h<em>e thought to himself. He suddenly heard a loud rustling in the trees above him and he glanced up just in time to be nailed in the face by a familiar pink boot that shoved his head into the dirt, the smell of rotting leaves and wood overwhelming his senses. "Alan." an angry feminine voice hissed. The boot was reluctantly removed, but he could feel something pressing firmly against the area where his head and neck met. "Get up with your hands on your head if you want to live." the voice commanded.

Alan pulled himself up off the forest floor and quickly put both hands on his head before Zelda could jab the end of her bo staff into his spine, doing everything from mild pain to possible paralysis. "Why were you stalking me?" Zelda asked, keeping her bo staff drawn on him. Alan had to admit, as much as he was terrified right now, she looked absolutely beautiful when she angry. The way her eyebrows pointed down, her lips curving downward, and the way her left eye twitched when she was furious was somehow endearing to him. Zelda growled and moved the tip of her bo staff to his throat, just an inch away from his Adam's apple. "I won't repeat myself again; why were you stalking me?" she hissed venomously.

"What, I can't talk to the most beautiful and intelligent girl in the world?" he asked, throwing her a stunning smile. Zelda blinked once in surprise before drawing the long stick on him again. "Your words won't work on me." she growled. Alan smiled again; he had seen her weaken, even if only for the briefest of moments. This girl's weakness was flattery about everything from her gorgeous looks to her massive brain. While Alan didn't exactly care too much about the brain part, he was more than happy to compliment on her looks. He calmly took his hands off his head and set them on the bo staff, pulling it down and away from serious injury. Zelda quickly jabbed it back to him, stabbing him in his jewels and whacked him over the head with the stick. Alan fell to the ground clutching his coconuts in pain as his vision swam before his eyes. "As much as I appreciate the flattery, I'm not looking for a relationship with the likes of _you._" she spat, literally spitting on him in the face. "But since you amuse me for the moment, take this as a token of my appreciation." she said in a pitied tone. She disappeared from Alan's vision, and for a moment he thought she had left him to suffer. He needn't worry as she came back hauling a ship's steering wheel with a bronze eagle in the middle. "That way you won't seem completely useless." she said with a wicked smile. "Good Luck." she simply said before leaping straight up into the nearest pine tree and hopping away.

"I swear, I will have you one day, Zelda." Alan moaned as the pain from her last attack over came him, sending him into oblivion.

* * *

><p>"How many more pieces do we have to find?" Trey huffed. After what seemed hours, he and Mortisha had managed to haul the ship's bow to the beach where both Chris and Chef were relaxing in lawn chairs, enjoying the warm rays of the sun while the contestants slaved away. A sweating intern panted nearby, fanning the pair furiously with a large, feathered fan. At the snap of Chris's finger, he fanned faster and faster until he suddenly passed out from lack of oxygen. Seconds later, another intern came to take his place as two more internes carried their fallen comrade away.<p>

"I think we have about five more left." Mortisha said, drawing the hood of her cloak over her head. She didn't mind the sun all that much. In someways, it was nice. It certainly helped when you were trying to fry yourself to a crisp with a giant magnifying glass. But she mostly preferred the night, with's lulling moonlight and cool breeze. She went so far as to even get a "moon tan", which explained her pale exterior. And because of that, the sunlight could be sometimes painful, even to her. Trey ignored the movement as Anuok came trudging out of the woods on the back of a sweating yak. Hooked to the yak's horns and neck was a large mizzen mast with the sails rolled up. The yak trudged a few more feet onto the beach and collapsed to the ground next to the ship's haul. Anuok hopped off Toni's back and untied the ropes. Already, the thick coat of fur and hair was disappearing as a human girl began to emerge from within the large beast. A couple minutes later, a panting and dehydrated Toni was kneeling in the sand, fanning herself desperately with her hands. "Scratch that. We have four more to find." Mortisha corrected herself. "We'll go look in the swamp, while you guys check the forest again." she said to Trey and then Anuok and Toni. "And see if we can find Micheal and Reese too."

* * *

><p>"Get up."<p>

Micheal groaned and cracked open an eye to see a tempered Maurananei standing over him with both hands on her hips and a ticked expression on her face. The creature sighed and hauled himself up onto his stubby legs, standing a good four feet taller than Maurananei. He reached with a flipper for the Animatrix, but Maurananei stopped with a raised hand. "I understand you're injured, so I'll allow you to remain in that form of yours." she said in a commanding. Micheal rolled his eyes. "You'll _allow _me? Oh, thank you, your highness." he said with as much sarcasm as possible. Maurananei ignored the comment and continued. "I have need of your services." she told him.

"I'm listening." Micheal said after a few moments. Maurananei continued on.

"I want to get back at Chris, and I'm pretty sure you do too. I need your help to get into his cottage and help me trash the place." Maurananei said.

"Why do you need me?" Micheal asked, folding his large flippers over his carapace. "And I thought he called it a mansion?"

"No one owns a cottage that big," Maurananei told him. "And the reason I need you is you can make it look like we were never there. Turn into a bear or something and make it look like a whole bunch of Chirs's twisted animal bots went rogue."

The large turtle smiled a mischievous grin. "I like the way you think. We just need to drop Reese off at the beach before we can go. Climb on." he said, turning around and gesturing with a flipper to his large, domed shell. Maurananei gave him a confused look. "Um, don;t you want to change into something faster?" she asked. The large being just smiled. "Trust me. Also, I'm gonna have to borrow your belt."

"Why!?"

"It makes travel a little easier when you have something to hang on to." Micheal explained.

Maurananei gave him a confused look, but climbed onto the large shell anyway as Micheal looped the belt through the middle of holes in his chest. They then proceeded to waddle, swinging from side to side, up a small hill and turn a sharp right up onto the cliff, where a dozing Reese could be seen in his wheelchair. Micheal held a flipper up his mouth, indicating silence. He then tiptoed over the small boy as best as he could and strapped both ends of the belt together around Reese's chest and under his arms, to provide extra security. "I still don't see how this is gonna work." Maurananei hissed in Micheal's ear hole. The giant turtle smiled. "You've obviously never met a Tolkobee, have you?"

Maurananei was about to argue that no body had ever met a Tolkobee before when something completely bizarre happened. Micheal gave a small jump into the air, quickly splaying his large flippers out on either side of him. His legs miraculously melded together into a third flipper, directly underneath his head. Before they fell back to the ground, Micheal began to spin his slippers, as if they were all joined on single circular disk inside of his shell. The flippers rotated like a helicopter's blades, lifting the large animal and its passengers off the ground by a few feet. Maurananei's jaw was agape as the flippers spun faster and faster as they rose higher and higher into the air until they were over the height of the tallest trees. Maurananei held her breath as the Tolkobee angled slightly downward, and they instantly zoomed in that direction, towards the beach. Reese dangled below, asleep, with the ship's steering wheel firmly locked onto his wheelchair. The thin strip of white that could only be the beach became bigger until they were directly over, a small pair of multicolored dots standing next to a large pile of wood. Micheal slowed the spinning of his fins, letting them lazily descend toward the beach, the two dots glancing up and jumping back in surprise at their sudden appearance. Maurananei ducked behind the shell, forcing herself to stay hidden as they came with at least seven feet of landing distance. Reese's wheelchair gently touched the ground, jolting him awake. "What's going on?" he asked groggily. Trey merely pointed up, too stunned for words as the Tolkobee hovered over them. Reese blinked and rubbed his eyes, unsure if they were playing tricks on him or not.

"Special delivery!" Micheal called down. He quickly angled one of his flippers so that it quickly cut the leather belt that held Reese to him, causing minor turbulence on Maurananei's part. The rest of the belt dropped harmlessly to the beach as Reese continued to gawk at him. "I'll be right back," he called down. "Reese, if you could start to figure out how these pieces go together?" he asked politely. Reese just nodded his head as Micheal turned around in place and flew off back to the forest, as if nothing had ever happened.

* * *

><p>Kiko was breathing heavily, her labored breath echoing against the dank cave walls.<p>

_This wasn't supposed to happen, this wasn't supposed to happen,_she thought to herself. She was having something to a mental breakdown. Something horrible had happened to her, and for once in her life she had something to do with it. _I guess that's not entirely true, _she thought with a frown. _Zelda could have hidden the watch better from me. Then I wouldn't have been tempted to try it out in the first place._ Deep down however, she knew she was wrong. Zelda had clearly told her that the watch needed testing, and what did she do? She went and tried it without the pink genius there to help her. She had gotten herself into this mess. _She _had done this to herself.

With a heavy sigh, Kiko slid down the clammy cave walls and rested her head on her knees, her arms wrapped around her head. Well, that wasn't entirely true; she still had one functioning arm, but due to her carelessness she had lost the other. It was instead a long, pinkish colored, octopus tentacle dripping wet sea slime from its suckers. The appendage was longer than Kiko's right arm, twisting and curving every now and then without Kiko's consensus. The prototype Animatrix had transformed only one part of her beautiful body, now turning her into a freak. She was pretty sure the watch had done other things to her as well; her skin was itchy, and whenever she scratched at it, little bits that looked like scales fell off; She found herself breathing through both her nose and something that had grown out of her neck, something that felt like a pair of gills; Her back itched terribly, and there was a dull pain as something smooth and pointed was mushed against the rock face behind her; Her eyes felt horribly itchy and irritable and she found she couldn't see very well for that matter, everything looking like one big blur; Kiko was sure her hair was having a wrestling match with itself, and she soon confirmed this when a pool of sea slime dripped down her face and onto the sea floor, the sound echoing through the cave.

Kiko then suddenly sat up. She hadn't realized how hot it was becoming, and the air felt thick and desolate, devoid of any moisture. Why did she care about moisture anyway? What was happening to her? Kiko didn't know and didn't care. What she _did _know was that she needed to find some water. _Fast._ She quickly stumbled to her feet, and nearly fainted when she suddenly felt a large, jointed crab leg split out of her right hip, reaching down the entire length of her now barnacle encrusted leg. "Oh, God, what's happening to me?" she wondered to herself as she staggered out of the cave and headed due West where she knew there was a river. She quickly found it and and knelt down, scooping some of the water out with her single hand and splashing it over her face. It felt good, cool and wet. She suddenly found she breath better than had moments before. But that quickly faded. She needed more water, now!

Seeing no other choice, she slipped into the river with a loud _splash_ and let the current carry her down stream as water flowed through her gills. Sighing, she let the cold, refreshing water consume her and fell into a deep sleep as the current carried her out to the lake.

* * *

><p>Maurananei could see for miles from where she was on Micheal's back. She hadn't exactly been too happy when Micheal ruined her belt, but the fantastic view more than made up for it. The proud pine trees just looked like little spikes on a large green mat, the tops of oak and birch trees looking more round green marbles. She glanced down into a clearing at the base of one of the mountains to see Caroline struggling to push what looked like the stern of a small ship, a deep gouge in the dirt about half a dozen feet long behind her. <em>Poor kid, <em>she thought to herself. Once she was done with the mansion, she would have to ask Micheal for a lift back to help Caroline. They continued over the island, swooping low over a swamp to see Mitchell dragging a moss covered cannon with him, making much better progress than Caroline despite the terrain and several chard alligators that floated in the muck. Just on the edges of the swamp, she could see an unconscious Alan with a ship's steering wheel lying on the ground next to him. Maurananei would have yelled down at him to get the anchors out of his pants and get moving, but it looked like he had been attacked violently. She decided to cut him a little slack.

Maurananei spotted Zelda high up in a spruce tree, oblivious to them as she scoured the island for more ship pieces. They swept over Anuok and a large grizzly bear as they were trying to haul back the mighty stern of another ship and Trey and Mortisha as they jogged through the woods back towards the swamp. They soon were over Chris's freshly built estate, constructed on a lone island that was close to the larger one, connected by a long wooden bridge. They landed next to the front door, Micheal tapping the Animatrix symbol as Maurananei climbed off. "Sooo, we just go to town?" Micheal asked as Maurananei grabbed hold of a decorative lamp post and ripped it out of the ground, holding it like a giant baseball bat.

"Lets get our destruction on!" she cackled.

* * *

><p>"I think that just about does it." Maurananei said as she tossed her mangled lamp post aside. The mansion (cottage?) was a wreck, to put it lightly. Two massive holes in the North and South ends of the mansion were created by a rhinoceros that was currently shoving Chris's Egyptian cotton sheet bed into the lake. The furniture, everything from the plush cushion couches and velvet chairs to the priceless vases and statues was destroyed, smashed and broken to bits. The paintings that depicted Chris as hundreds of famous heroes were torn to shreds. There were several Maurananei shaped holes in the walls, and the bathroom and kitchen sinks were spewing forth gallons of water. A rhino wearing a large, thick red collar around its neck stomped down the stairs to the bottom floor, taking out the shiny, bronze banister with a twist of its head. The animal snorted and shoved its way past Maurananei and through the front door, ripping the frame out from the wall (they had originally come in through another hole in the wall, not bothering to use the front door). A bright flash followed, and Maurananei briefly saw the returning shape of Micheal before he changed form again, turning into small hare that bounded away as soon as the red light faded. Maurananei sighed. Looked like she was going to have to walk back.<p>

* * *

><p>"And it looks like the Rhinos have things just about wrapped up!" Chris announced with fake glee. Reese had long since figured out how to assemble the pieces, and once the other returned, everything would be smooth sailing, provided they didn't lose the last challenge. Meanwhile, Mitchell had dragged the rusted cannon all the way to beach and was currently dressing several nasty bites all over his body. Maurananei and Caroline were just on the edges of the beach, pushing the piece of ship stern toward the their small pile as Alan staggered out of the woods with the captain's wheel in his shaky hands. "C'mon! Hurry up!" Maurananei yelled as a large ship's bow came skidding out of the woods, plowing its way through the dirt and sand. Zelda appeared behind it and gave it a round house kick, sending it skidding it to where Mitchell was resting. She then jogged over and motioned for Maurananei and Caroline to hurry up. Maurananei gritted her teeth and gave the stern of the ship a big shove, pushing it several feet and causing Caroline to lose her balance and fall on her face. Maurananei ignored her and pushed the stern towards the bow of the ship, a surprisingly audible <em>click <em>sounding off as the two pieces connected. Mitchell staggered to his feet and lugged the cannon over to the ship, Maurananei stealing it from his grasp and tossing it up onto the deck with a loud _bang!_

The ground started to shiver and quake, and everyone turned to see a pair of elephants, one a large African Bull wearing a thick red collar, and a smaller Asian Cow. Anuok, her knuckles turning white, clung onto the wiry hairs of the Asian tusker, a thick rope around each of the animal's necks. Behind them, shoving trees and brush aside as they were dragged along, was the stern of a wooden ship and a large cannon covered in lichen and pine needles. The elephant's trumpeted in unison as the cast, along with Chris and Chef, dove aside to avoid getting trampled. "AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Reese cried as he shield himself with his arms, only to have the two pachyderms skid to a halt just a foot away from him. Anuok hopped down from the Asian elephant and untied the ropes to both the animals as each of them grabbed their luggage in their trunks, hauling it over to the pile with ease. Once Reese was sure he wasn't going to be squished, he quickly began to direct the elephant's movements, guiding the animal's to put the ship together as they were the only ones big enough to do the job. Eventually they had a large wooden ship slightly bigger than both elephants combined. The mast towered over them all as Anuok unfurled the sail from the crows nest. Reese, aboard the ship, gave the cannon a quick shine as Micah blasted the weapon with a jet of water from his trunk, accidentally dousing the crippled boy in the process. As Reese dried himself with his shirt, Anuok slid down the mast like a fireman's pole and handed him her notepad. Reese read it over before handing it back to her.

"According to Anuok, we only have five pieces!" he yelled "We need one more. Has anyone seen Trey and Mortisha?" Micheal rumbled and pointed towards the forest with his trunk. Then he looped the appendage around Reese's wheelchair and lifted it up onto his back, Toni using her trunk to do the same to Anuok. The pair of elephant's then lumbered off into the forest, knocking over several trees in the process, much to Chris's annoyance. "At this rate, we won't have an island to do another season on." he sighed as Chef shook his head with disappointment.

"We just need . . . . . two more pieces." Zelda told her team, pausing to count off on her fingers. "And has anyone seen Kiko anywhere?" The Eagles paused from their work to glance around in search of the young adult. She was no where in sight. "Where is that **BEEP!**" Maurananei cursed, stomping a foot in frustration. "How are we supposed to win when we're down a player!?" she screamed before an eye occurred to her, glancing at the Rhino's ship. "An idea has just occurred to me." she muttered with a sly smile. "Zelda and Alan search the North side of the island; Caroline, I'll meet you near the creek. Me and Mitchell have some things to take care of." she said, rubbing her hands together manically. Her team mates gave a confused look, but headed off anyways.

* * *

><p>"I found the second cannon!" Mortisha cried with glee. Trey staggered up to Mortisha, leaning on her as he gasped for breath. The large, metal weapon sat in the middle of a dark clearing, mossy vines draped over it. "Finally. Now all we have to do is-" Trey started before something leaped out of the trees and landed on the ground with a <em>thud <em>directly between them and the cannon. "Oh, no! Not him! Anyone but him!" Trey wailed as a hungry Fangdroid 2.0 licked its chops. Before Trey and Mortisha could even take a step, the robot's eyes glowed red as metal panels on its skin slid back to reveal blasters that whined as they charged up. A pair of rockets popped out of the shark's back as it's claws popped out just a little, implying they were detachable.

"Okay, that guy is not right in the head!" Trey cried.

"You're talking about Chris, right?" Mortisha asked.

"Do you think I was talking about anybody else!?" Trey cried as a fiery red laser struck the ground at his feet. "Hit the deck!"

_**Confessional**_

"Well you don't to be so snappy about it," Mortisha huffed. "I mean, someone _else _could have built the robot!"

_**Change Confessional**_

"It's official: I hate Chris." Trey growled, putting out a tiny flame in his hair as smoke curled off his chard body.

_**End Confessional**_

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" Trey cried as he dove behind a rock, a red hot laser beam following closely behind him until it turned its attention to Mortisha. The small girl was laughing with glee as jumped forward and bounced off her hands, flipping and twisting in the air as the laser beams fried the air just inches behind her. Fang growled and raised his claw tips, firing them off in trails of smoke after Mortisha. They exploded in the air in clouds of smoke as Mortisha cackled maniacally. "Hit me with your best shot, Fish Breath!" she yelled, prompting the droid to open its mouth and unleash a wave of fire.

_**Confessional**_

"FIRE!? ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?" Trey screamed.

_**End Confessional**_

"Come on, you Tin Can!" Mortisha yelled. "Give me your best shot!" she screamed as she bounced off a tree and aimed a foot at Fang's head. The shark merely grabbed hold of her foot and whirled her around over his head before slamming her against a tree. The small girl groaned and slid down the trunk to the ground, unmoving. The shark then fired a laser at the rock Trey was cowering behind, blowing it to pieces as Trey went flying into the air, landing at the shark's feet. He looked up and smiled nervously as Fang growled, show casing his hundreds of sharp teeth. Trey gulped nervously, slowly reaching for his trusty bass guitar as he crept backwards on his toes and fingers. Fang watched with a steel gaze until Trey was about a yard from him when he sprang up on his feet and belted out a loud note on his guitar, screaming like a banshee as he did. The sound was earth-shattering, blowing back Fang's gums as the metal plating was peeled off of him, revealing his sparking wires and shaking gadgetry. Trees were bent back by the force, their branches ripping free as the Fangbot suddenly exploded, the wires sparking and smoking as the headless droid fell to the ground, lifeless.

"**NOOOOO!" **Chris's voice wailed over the loud speakers. **"Not my baby!"**

Trey cracked a smile as he strapped his guitar back to his back and walked up to the cannon, brushing off the vines and moss that covered it. A moan sounded off to his left, and he turned to see Mortisha climb to her faltering feet with a nasty bump the size of a golf ball on her head. She rubbed it sorely and lurched over to Trey with a pained smile on her face. "Nice job, _Barney_." she said. Trey froze before grabbing his bass guitar and holding it like a club at her. "How do you know about that?" he asked in a threatening manner. Mortisha was unfazed as she answered him. "I dunno. I just kinda figured it out on my own. Your hidden stash of beer was an obvious hint, too." she said with a light laugh. Trey lowered his guitar. "You didn't take any, did you?" he asked with a little concern in his voice. Mortisha cracked another smile and dug into her cloak, pulling out a half empty bottle. Trey's eyes widened as he snatched the bottle from her small hands. "Don't go digging around in my stuff!" he yelled. "Are you even old enough to be drinking!?"

"I'm the same age as you." Mortisha stated with defiance. "And I'll be taking my bottle back, thank you very much." she said, stealing it from Trey's grasp. Before trey could protest, she popped the bottle open and chugged the rest of the liquid down in one gulp before forcing the vial into her mouth and crunching it into dust with one bite. Trey's eye twitched in shock, fear, and annoyance as Mortisha hiccuped and spit out the shards of glass from her mouth, her tongue and gums somehow making it out unscathed. Trey slapped his head and sighed. "Whatever. I better not hear from your parents about this," he growled. Mortisha gave him a thumbs up and the two got behind the cannon and pushed.

Suddenly, the earth shook beneath them as a pair of large elephants crashed through the underbrush, trunks swinging from side to side to clear the vegetation that wasn't crushed under their large feet. Trey and Mortisha fell back as Anuok jumped down from the back of one of the large beast and tied it around the cannon, looping it around the thick neck of her pachyderm. She then jumped back up as Reese motioned for the pair to hop on. Mortisha and Trey shared a look before climbing on, the large African Bull going first to clear yet another path as the Asian Cow lumbered behind him, dragging the cannon with her. The elephants let out a loud trumpet in triumph, they were so close to their goal. Mortisha cheered as leaves slapped at them, Trey deciding to take the time to grab some sleep. Mortisha's howling had kept up all night; it was a wonder he hadn't collapsed from exhaustion. He soon fell asleep, lulled into slumber by the elephant's steady, swaying movements.

* * *

><p>Trey was standing in the middle of a large field. The sky was black as the full moon shone in the night. The grass beneath his feet was sparse and dry, barely even alive as a cool breeze below across the plane. A few old, gnarled trees dotted the landscape as a lone wolf howled in the distance. Trey looked around and noticed a crouched figure at the base of a leafless tree, completely still except for the occasional movement of its cloak. Raising an eyebrow, Trey walked over to the figure and knelt down, gently poking the figure in what he assumed to be the shoulder. "Um, hello?" he said quietly. The figure shifted, a feminine voice mumbling a "hello" back. The figure moved again, and the black hood of the cloak drew back to reveal an angel. Trey gasped as her pale, white face glowed in the night, her ruby red lips eyes, her raven black hair shining a little bit in the moonlight. Trey breathed as the figure rose up to her full height, exactly one inch shorter than he was. Before he could resist the figure pulled him in a hug, resting her head against his chest. Trey awkwardly wrapped his arms around her thin waist, actually seemingly to enjoy it a little. Just why did he like it so much? The figure suddenly moved her head back and pecked him on the cheek, causing him to turn red.<p>

"I love you, Barney." the girl said as she rested her head on his chest again.

* * *

><p>Trey startled awake, face down in the sand as the world shook around him. He yanked his head out of the ground, spitting out a mouthful of earth to see an angry Asian elephant chasing a terrified Mitchell around the beach as a large African elephant was spraying water from its trunk on a pile of firewood. <em>Wait a minute. Isn't that where our ship was?<em> Trey thought before panic over came him. "NO!" he yelled in frustration as Mitchell dashed by with the enraged elephant close behind and Anuok, Mortisha, and Reese all holding onto the tail in an attempt to slow the beast down with little affect. The cannon sat just to Trey's left as Maurananei walked out of the woods with a large ship's mast over her shoulder and a wicked smile on her face. Caroline hung helplessly from the timber, her entire body a good foot off the ground. Maurananei gave a shake and Caroline fell off as Maurananei walked up the gangplank of their ship and jabbed it into it's hole, the sail unfurling to show a bronze Eagle. Trey sighed and put his face into his hands as Mitchell, Toni the Elephant, and their little friends took another lap around the beach.

* * *

><p>"What have I told you about standing too close to me?" Zelda hissed to Alan as they walked through the woods. Alan quickly took a sidestep to his left, unaware he had even been that close to the pink genius. The pair walked along, Zelda throwing glares at him every couple of minutes. Alan studied her for a few moments before sucking in a deep breath. "Why do you hate me so much?" he asked out of the blue. Zelda jerked to a stop and turned to him with a confused look on her face. "What did you say?"<p>

"Why do you hate me?" Alan repeated.

Zelda rolled her eyes. "Oh, no. I don;t hate you at all. I absolutely _love _it when people decide to come watch me take a shower without any common sense at all." she said with as much sarcasm as she could muster. "So, you don;t hate?" Alan asked, confused.

"OF COURSE I HATE YOU, YOU **BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!**" Zelda roared before something caught her eye, a shining piece of metal hidden in a large shrub. Without another word she ran towards the bush and pulled out another large cannon as Alan sniffed behind her, clearly hurt. Zelda ignored him and pushed the cannon towards the beach, Alan sulking behind her.

_**Confessional**_

"Okay, I admit I probably went too far with trying to flirt with her," Alan sighed. "But now she completely hates my guts with every fiber of her being. I'll never get her to like em!" he wailed, a small tear leaking down his face.

_**Change Confessional**_

"Yes, I hate him," Zelda said with her arms crossed over her chest. "I know he has a huge crush on me and all, but that's not not going to help his case. He ever even wants to earn my trust again, he's gonna have to do something big. Even bigger than the sun's 865,374 mile circumference." she said with a huff.

_**End Confessional**_

The two teens soon returned to the beach, to find a bizarre spectacle: a game of tug o' war between both teams, the Rhinos consisting of Micheal and Toni still in their elephant forms and the Eagles made of Maurananei and Caroline, with Anuok, Mortisha, and a very nervous Reese pulling from the Eagles end. The rope was, unfortunately, of poor Mitchell, and the furious elephant's were slowly winning, despite Caroline trying to convince them to let go.

"Can you do something right for once, and push the cannon over to our ship? Apparently I have to help save Mitchell." she told Alan as she ran off to the group. Alan sullenly nodded and began to push the cannon towards his team's ship, barely making any progress. Zelda ran to the edge of the forest, glancing wildly around before she found what she was looking for. With a long branch, she reached up into the reaches of a large oak tree and slapped something to the ground before jabbing and whacking several times. The object was oval shaped and making a very loud buzzing sound as a cloud of bees flew out and swarmed in the air above Zelda. The girl quickly ran towards the other teens, the angry bees behind her. She quickly ran between the two groups, jumping over a stretched Mitchell. The groups quickly stopped their argument in favor of running away as the bees swarmed over them, the pair of elephants trumpeting in fear and stampeding towards the lake, the tips of their trunks just above the surface as the others dived in and the cloud of angry bees swarmed above.

"And we have a winner!" Chris announced, dressed in a beekeeper suit. Chef stood next to him with an amused expression on his face as the contestants poked their heads above the lake, only to get stung by the aggravated bees. "The Eagles win, thanks to Alan's pitiful amount of strength and Maurananei's suicidal plan!" Chris said with a laugh. "If I were Mitchell, I wouldn't be trusting Maurananei anytime soon." he chuckled as Maurananei threw him one of her famous death looks. "And now . . ." Chris began as he pulled out another one of his many remotes and pressed the big red button on it, and both ships (intact and not) blew up in a fiery explosion!

"I will blow up your ships!" Chris finished as the contestants complained and yelled at him.

"Why'd you make us do all that hard work!?" Reese yelled as Mortisha and Trey swam over to keep his wheelchair from sinking beneath the surface.

"I needed some alone time," Chris said placidly. "Plus, I figured you would much appreciate these!" Chris yelled, pointing behind the contestants. The cast turned in the water to see two enormous pirate ships with massive masts and sails, mighty sterns, and figureheads of Bridgette and Geoff. And speaking of such, each one was behind the helm of one of the might ships.

"What's up, dudes!?" Geoff called down from the wheel of the Rhino's ships with his usual smile on his face.

"Hello down there!" Bridgette cried from the Eagle's ship. The contestants grinned as they paddled to shore, the ships staying a safe distance behind them as they made their way towards shore. Micheal gave Mortisha and Trey a break and grabbed Reese's wheelchair in his trunk as the pair climbed onto his broad back. Anuok and Toni soon made it to shore after them as the Eagle's made it next to them. The ships docked on the sand a couple minutes after them, and both past contestants slid down the anchor chains like a fire man's pole with big grins on their faces. "Hey, dudes!" Geoff said as he pulled Mitchell, Trey, and Reese into a bro hug. Bridgette gave a hug to each girl (shivering after hugging Mortisha) and scratched both elephant's under their chins, earning a low purring from both of them.

"Enough with the touchy-feely-moments!" Chris yelled as he took his beekeeping mask off. "Bridgette! Geoff! If you're done getting cozy with the cast, I would appreciate it if you could both assist me in finding Kiko. Apparently she's gone missing, and I am much too busy care otherwise." Chris said, swiping a lock of luscious, black hair out of his face. Bridgette and Geoff both shared a look and waved good-bye to the cast as they ran down the beach, out of sight.

"Now then! If there are no more interruptions," Chris said with a ticked look. "The second part of your challenge will be to have an epic pirate battle!" he announced with a smile. "This is gonna be wicked!"

* * *

><p>"Each of your ships is outfitted with a dozen cannons, each of which you will be able to fire some of Chef's famous Swedish Meatballs!" Chris said as Chef pulled out a plate of seemingly harmless meatballs. Chef then picked one up and dropped it to the deck, punching all the way through to the bottom deck with a hollow <em>thud<em>. "The main goal of this challenge is to be the last man or woman standing. If you hit the water, you're out of the challenge! Last person standing wins!" he said with enthusiasm. "And to make things interesting, you will all be forced to dress up in standard pirate garb!" he announced, throwing them all a set of clothes and pointing towards the heads of the ships. "Now, go!" he yelled.

A couple minutes later, each player set out onto the decks of their ships, dressed to impress. Micheal sported a tri-horned captain's hat with a red trim and a black captain's jacket over a white shirt. Several knives were strapped over his chest and a pistol sat in the holster in his baggy brown pants and large boots. A giant sword bigger than him was strapped his back, and a gold tooth was stuck in his mouth that gleamed in the sunlight when he smiled.

Trey sported a piece of torn, red cloth around his head with a brown vest over a stained white shirt and black jeans with boots and his trusty guitar strapped to his back. A couple necklaces of red jewels were looped around his neck and a golden ring earring was in his ear. Next to him was Mortisha with an eye patch over one eye, a blue bandana around her head. She wore her black cloak and a single leather shoulder pad on her right shoulder with a pair of black boots. A pair of small swords sat in their sheaths, waiting to be used.

Toni wore a captain;s hat similar to Micheal's as she polished her dagger and shined her steel armor, held together by brass buttons and leather straps. Large boots were on her feet, and her hair was braided into dreadlocks decorated with beads. Anuok was dressed in a captain's jacket covered in brass buttons and clasps with a large belt that separated her white, ruffled shirt and black pants that covered her brown boots. She swung around a small anchor attached to a length of chain with little effort with her daggers in her back pockets.

And small Reese wore a red and white striped shirt with a red bandana on his head and a small hook attached to his left hand. He wore torn khaki shorts with his bare feet and had a small golden earring jabbed into his ear. All the poor cabin boy had to defend himself with was a small dagger as the rest of his crew bellowed a war cry.

On the other ship, the Eagle's had just walked out of the captain's quarters, dressed in full pirate garb. Maurananei had a tri-horned captain's hat on her head and a brown shirt with a black vest over it. She wore a pair of brown, baggy pants with large black boots. She had a large battle ax attached to her back, ready to be used at a moments noticed. Caroline stood next to her wearing a black and white striped shirt and a black headband around her head and a pair of daggers in her hands. Her golden earrings glinted in the sunlight as Alan, who was prone to seasickness, vomited on her boots. The ill boy was dressed in a gray captain's jacket and wore a red bandana around his head. A sword was attached to his belt, and he wore a pair of torn pants and boots.

As Caroline tried to wash off her vomit covered boots, Mitchell swung down from the crow's nest, sporting a pair of lean black boots, baggy, torn pants, blue shirt, and black bandana with a skull and crossbones on it. Zelda then swung down on a rope, her costume drastically different than her team mates. She wore pink and white striped leggings under her pink boots. A pink belt with a golden buckle shone in the sunlight as she straight her pink vest over her white shirt and captain's hat. Her bo staff was sheathed over her back, and she wore two rows of throwing stars over her chest as she focused her black eye patch.

"I'll admit, you losers actually look cool for once," Chris said with a laugh as he flew by on his trusty jet pack. "Oh! One more thing; we have faithfully stocked the lake with giant jellyfish and electric eels, just to make things interesting!" Chris cackled as a jelly fish the size of an elephant floated between the two ships. The contestants gasped as the large animal passed them and disappeared into the deep. "And because the Eagles won the last challenge, they get a second chance at the challenge should they fall in the water. GO!" Chris yelled, blowing his trusty air horn.

The Eagles quickly leaped into action, Maurananei taking the helm as Zelda climbed into the rigging as Mitchell scaled the crows nest. Not wanting to be useless, Alan and Caroline rushed to the side of the ship and grabbed hold of a long plank that sat on the deck. Together, they shouldered it to the railing and shoved it across the gap between the ships, the other end smacking down on the railing with a loud _thunk._ The duo yelled and charged across the plank, trying not to look down, and jumped to the deck, trying to look as scary as possible. "Don't be alarmed, we're taking over your ship!" Alan said in a loud, calm manner to the crew of the _Geoff's Pride_.

"AYE! AVAST!" Caroline yelled, thrusting forward with a dagger and promptly tripped and fell on her face as the Rhino's burst into fits of laughter before calming down and then truly scaring the crap out of the two weaklings. Micheal grinned and activated his Animatrix, once again turning into his four armed Nisilaha form. The large creature wore Micheal's outfit, but had suddenly grown a braided beard with beads in it. Four large and incredibly sharp swords appeared in each of his arms as he yelled a battle cry. Anuok swung down from the rigging and proceeded to take out a dozen barrels with her anchor win one shot, swinging it across the deck. Trey unstrapped his bass guitar and held it in a threatening manner, smacking it against his hand as he cackled. Mortisha, who was next to him, unsheathed her swords and put them in an X shape, catching the glint of the sun in their reflection. Reese gulped and yelled as he threw a dagger at Alan's feet. A large tiger covered in battle armor slunk out of the shadows of the main mast and out into full view as the whole crew assembled together, becoming an incredibly terrifying fighting force.

"I think it's time we beat a hasty retreat, don't you?" Caroline gulped.

"Retreat? Hah! I don't know the meaning of the word!" Alan yelled. "Seriously, what does it mean?"

"It's like running away but manlier." Caroline explained.

"Oh. Well, then, I say we go with your plan. RETREAT!" he cried at the top of his lungs as both teens hurried across the gangplank with the entire Rhinos team behind them yelling and roaring at the top of their lungs. Maurananei heard the noise and glanced down from her position at the wheel and groaned.

I really hate those two clowns," she sighed as she stomped down the stairs to the deck. "Man your stations, men! Caroline and Alan just brought the entire crew over for a play date!" she roared.

"Play date? Are we seriously taking a break in the middle of a challenge to play games?" Zelda called down from the rigging. Maurananei face palmed and yelled back at her. "It's just an expression! Get the anchors out of your pants and make them walk the plank!" she roared as she unsheathed her sword and ran toward a fleeing Alan and Caroline.

_**Confessional**_

"Excuse me for being confused," Zelda growled. "As great of a leader as she is, she's really starting to grind my last nerve and I've only been on this team for a day. Speaking of which, I wonder where Kiko is. I hope she hasn't been tampering with the watch." Zelda wondered in a worried tone.

_**End Confessional**_

* * *

><p>Kiko cracked open her eyes, a bright light blinding her vision. She groaned and covered her eyes with her hand, only to have it droop onto her face and remain them, stuck fast. Kiko yelled and pulled, the arms covering off with a popping sound. She looked at the appendage and screamed, a cloud of bubbles coming out of her mouth as she realized she was underwater. The events of the past couple of hours came flooding back to her and she nearly cried as she looked herself over to find herself a bigger freak than before. Sharp fins had appeared on her arms and ankles, and even bigger barnacles to the large sea turtle shell that had appeared on her back. Clumps of seaweed and shells stuck fast on random spots on her scaly body, and she soon found that she had a third arm, composing of a large crab claw. Sharp, shark-like teeth had replaced her own, and an eel-like tail had sprouted from her spine. She could barely recognize herself anymore. Tears met her eyes, but they were impossible to sea under the surface of the lake. <em>Oh, God, what have I become?<em> she thought.

Suddenly, she sensed something, a presence enter the water. She felt a welling instinct inside her to go after the thing and attack it, rip apart viciously with her teeth and reveal in the taste of blood. She quickly stowed that feeling away, opting to follow the more curious side of her. She climbed to her feet and swam toward the being in the water, in a completely unorthodox motion of paddling with her arms and moving her new tail from side to side as her gills sucked in water. She was about halfway to the being when she felt something inside her move and push towards the surface of skin. She instantly began to panic as a large bump formed on her forehead and spat forth a long fleshy wire with a little attached to it, similar to an angler fish. She felt her teeth become serrated and more needle-like as they forced themselves out of her mouth to curl up and over her top lip, creating an exaggerated under bite. She felt something forming like vile in the back of her throat and she instinctively coughed it up to reveal a sharp, parrot-like beak attached to a sort of fleshy hose. She could feel fins forming on the side of her head as an itchy feeling became known to her on her hips and back. They revealed nothing knew, so she ignored them for the most part. Once she was sure the extra additions to her new form were over she swam forward again, faster than before due to her extra fins and aerodynamics. She lurked on the bottom of the lake and moved towards the shore, her senses telling her that she was close to what she was looking for.

"Are you sure using the water is the best way to find Kiko?" Bridgette asked in a skeptical tone.

"'Cha! Not only will be easy travel, but we catch some awesome waves while we're at it!" Geoff said with a laugh as he and Bridgette straddled a surfboard together. The young couple had found an old surfboard in one of the island's few buildings and had decided to take the opportunity to relax while searching for the missing contestant. Bridgette smiled and sighed leaning back on the board to rest on Geoff's chest as he paddled along. Things couldn't have been better when Geoff felt something brush up against his leg.

"Um, Bridge? You _do _know how to treat a jellyfish sting, right?" he asked with a nervous tone.

"Yeah? Why do you ask?" Bridgette asked her boyfriend, sitting up with concern.

"Just in case one of the monster jellyfish from the challenge drifted over here. I think there's something in the water." Geoff said.

"You mean like fish?" Bridgette laughed. "C'mon Geoff, it's probably just Chris trying to scare us. We're too old to fall for tricks like– AAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" Bridgette screamed as she felt something move against her leg and something slimy wrap around it before she jerked her leg out of the water. The two teens huddled together on the board as a large fin broke the surface of the water and edged closer, glimpses of other things popping up every now and then. And then, just as it had suddenly appeared it, it was gone.

"What was that?" Bridgette asked with a scared voice.

"I dunno, babe. But whatever it is, it's freaking me out!"

"RRRRAAAAAAA-AAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" a loud and hoarse roar sounded as a large creature surfaced in front of them. Slimy tentacles twisted and churned the water as the creature's wicked jaws snapped open and shut, the tentacle-beak sliding in and out every now and then. The monster was hideous, like a twisted combination of hundreds of sea creatures rolled into one. The animal moved forward, and both Bridgette and Geoff screamed and dove off the board, swimming towards shore. The creature roared again and dove under the water, giving chase after them until they finally reached shore. The two gasped for air and climbed across the shore, staying well away from the water as the creature seemingly gave up.

_**Confessional**_

"Seriously!? Another mutant?" Bridgette complained to the camera. "You've gone to far Chris! Too far!" sh yelled, jabbing a finger at the camera.

_**Change Confessional**_

"I have never been so scared of the water in my life, man." Geoff squeaked as he assumed a fetal position and rocked back and forth on his heels.

_**End Confessional**_

"I think we're safe, babe." Geoff said with a sigh of relief. "I don't think it can move out of water."

He was quickly proven wrong when the creature's shell moved towards the shallowest part of the shore and slowly inched its way up the beach. Bridgette screamed as Geoff grabbed a tree branch and held it in a threatening manner as the creature quickly drew up to it's full height of seven feet. It walked on two pairs of crab-like legs with a large claw on its left and a slimy octopus tentacle on its right. Her human hair might have been was a withering nest of sea anemone tentacles and seaweed. A large turtle shell was on the h=back with two shark-like fins breaking out of the surface. The shell was covered in barnacles and seashells, with a slimy eel-like tail at the end. The creature had angler-fish like teeth and sharp fins on it's arms and legs, a glowing protrusion on its forehead, and large glowing dots on its hips. But what surprised both teens the most was that there appeared to be a pair of limp and seemingly useless human legs attached to the creature, just between its jointed crab legs. A shriveled human arm was nearly concealed under the giant crab claw, and it seemed to have an almost human face that looked on them with a pleading expression.

"RRRRAAAAAAA-GGGGGGHHHH!" the monster bellowed as it tiptoed closer. Geoff lashed out with his tree branch, but the creature caught it in its claw and snapped it in two. Geoff reached for a large rock, but was stopped when Bridgette held his hand back. "Hold on, Geoff! I think I know what's going on here." she said in a calm tone. Geoff cocked an eyebrow but remained silent. Once Bridgette was sure he wouldn't try anything, she slowly walked up to the creature with slow and deliberate movements. The monster cocked its head and lowered itself down to her level, still being about foot taller than her. Bridgette reached out with a hand gently touched the creature's face, expecting it to take her hand off with one quickly movement of its lethal jaws.

Except it didn't.

Bridgette cracked open an eye and breathed, not even realizing she had been holding her breath. She felt something on her finger tips and looked to see a river of salty tears streaming down the creature's face. Before she could move, the monster pulled her into a hug, wrapping it's large tentacle and claw around her. The single human arm entwined its fingers into her blonde locks as it cried freely, its breaths big and labored. Geoff, meanwhile, was more confused than he had ever been in his whole life. He slowly reached for a rock, but was cut short by a warning look from Bridgette.

"Geoff, this isn't just some hideous monster," Bridgette said calmly as she gently stroked the creature's anemone hair, which was surprisingly devoid of any stingers. "I think this is Kiko."

"What? Are you crazy!?" Geoff yelled and threw up his arms. The monster roared and held Bridgette tighter, loosening its grip on her when Geoff backed off a little ways. Bridgette put a finger to her lips. "Shhhh. Come on, it's okay." she said in a gently voice. The creature, suddenly plopped onto the ground, its crab-like legs splayed haphazardly across the sand as Bridgette continued to stroke her hair. "Geoff." she whispered. "Come closer. And don't make any sudden movements. Just gently pet her, or she'll go crazy." she hissed to a nervous Geoff. The party dude stiffly nodded and edged closer, reaching out with a finger for one of the crab's legs. He gently touched it, and the creature sucked in a large breath. Geoff froze, but the creature didn't attack. Geoff breathed a sigh of relief and put both hands on the jointed leg, gently rubbing them up and down the appendage as the creature apparently purred with pleasure. Bridgette smiled and gave a small yelp as the monster suddenly dropped her to the sand. Bridgette shook her head and looked closer at the monster before her. "Kiko? Can you understand us?" she asked quietly.

The creature slowly nodded and suddenly spoke in a low, raspy voice.

"Heeeeeelp meeeeehhhhhhhhhh." she gasped.

* * *

><p>"Do us a favor," Maurananei growled as she parried another blow from Micheal with the staff of her axe. Caroline and Alan were each battling one of Micheal's four arms, each attack each parried with ease. For all they were doing, they might as well having been poking him with a Q-tip.<p>

"I know it's rather difficult for you," Maurananei said to the pair. "But please, just stay here and try not to do anything . . . stupid." Alan and Caroline frowned and slunk away. Maurananei sighed. She didn't _want _to hurt her team mates feeling, especially Caroline; The girl was already a nervous wreck. But they unfortunately, practically useless on the battlefield, er deck. Sure, they might be able to take Reese on in his deteriorated condition, but they were virtually useless anywhere else. She would have sent them below decks to work the cannons, but she was pretty sure they wouldn't even be able to lift up any of Chef's meatballs, much less fire one out of a cannon.

"Caroline! Alan! Go below deck!" Maurananei yelled as she back flipped to dodge a brutal attack by Micheal. The pair looked at each other and stalked below decks, unsure of what to do as the battle raged overhead. Yells of fury and pain echoed through the hollow wooden hall, loud booms and and dull thuds shaking the deck. Alan sighed. "I feel completely useless." he said as he slid down the wall to the floor. Caroline sighed and fell to the floor onto her face, ignoring the dull pain in her head.

"At least none of can be eliminated. With us out of the way, we're guaranteed to win." Caroline said in a muffled voice. They each sat there for what seemed hours, but was only a couple minutes. "I got an idea!" Alan said suddenly, jumping to his feet and promptly hitting his head on one of the beams overhead. Caroline turned her face on her side to look at him, listening. "Why don't we sink the Rhino's ship?" he wondered.

"None of us can lift the stupid meatball into the cannon." Caroline sighed, sitting up.

"Yeah, alone. Together we should be strong enough to at least tilt it into the barrel." Alan said energetically. Caroline smiled and got up from the floor and ran over to a barrel full of hard, rock-like balls; Chef's famous Swedish Meatballs. Together, they wrapped their fingers and heaved it out of the barrel, falling to the floor under the weight of the round food. "What does he put in these things, cement!?" Alan cried underneath the brutal weight.

_**Confessional**_

"How's a self respect cook supposed ta have a best sellin' recipe with a secret ingredient if anyone can guess what it is!?" Chef complained. "It just ain't right."

_**End Confessional**_

After a couple of agonizing minutes on Alan's part, they finally managed to slide the meatball into the barrel of cannon. Caroline found a packet of matches and struck one against the cannon, lighting the wick and crouching down, covering her ears and waiting for the blast. Alan was about to do the same when he saw something skitter past his feet, looking down to see a cockroach the size of a rat.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" he screamed, jumping up and hitting his head on the barrel of the cannon and setting it straight up, just as it fired, creating a large hole in the deck as it sailed skyward. "That can't be good." Alan said nervously.

* * *

><p>"ARR!" Zelda cried as she deflected a blow from Anuok. The pink pirate was jumping around in the labyrinth of rigging and ropes in the canopy of her team's ship, dodging attacks from Anuok's anchor. A large sweeping move had cutting her off from several short cuts and escape routes, slowing her movements as she was forced to evade Anuok's every move. She reached for a sheath of throwing stars and was ready to throw them when something about the size of a bowling ball slammed into her side, sending her to the deck. She slammed into the floor and groaned, then cried out in pain when said object smashed into her backside, sending her crashing through the deck and into the bowls of the ship. She groaned and rolled the object off of her sore back to find Alan and Caroline cowering behind a large cannon, a large Swedish meatball at the base. She quickly deduced it was the meatball that had caused her to fall, and that Alan or Caroline had fired it out of the cannon. She decided it was most likely Alan being himself: a complete idiot.<p>

"So, you like cannons, eh?" she growled, drawing up to her full height. Before Alan could even scream, she grabbed him by the neck and stuffed him into the cannon, all that was visible being his red bandana. Zelda snatched the pack of matches from Caroline's shaking hands and struck it against the cannon and lit the wick, tilting the cannon downward so that it was aimed toward the other ship.

"FIRE ONE!" Zelda yelled as the cannon sounded off a loud _boom _and shot Alan out of the ship, screaming at the top of his lungs as he crashed through the hull of the ship with ease, water gushing into the hole made by Alan's head as Micheal could be heard yelling, "Stop firing at my ship!"

_**Confessional**_

"I always knew he had a thick skull," Zelda said with a smile. "Anyone who's that annoying and obnoxious has to have one. It just makes sense."

_**End Confessional**_

Zelda smiled and turned to a cowering Caroline. "Please don't hurt me." she squeaked. Zelda rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to hurt you. Alan just gets on my nerves. _A lot._" she told the small girl. "Now, come on. Just because Maurananei wants to keep you safe, doesn't me you can't help in some way." she said with a smile before dashing towards the stairs leading to the main deck. Caroline hesitated, but followed her anyway.

She soon found herself in the middle of an all out brawl, the clanging of swords echoing through the air as the contestants fought each other to the death. Mitchell was hurling down hot coals at Trey, who sent right back by using his guitar like a baseball bat. Both Micheal and Maurananei were locked in mortal combat, slashing and swinging at each other with their swords and ax. "Mortisha! Catch!" Micheal suddenly yelled as he reached with a free arm and pulled out his blunderbuss from its holster. The small girl caught it with a hand and fired it at an unsuspecting Maurananei, the subsistence exploding on contact and consuming her in a small fire ball. "What is this?" Mortisha wondered, looking inside the gun.

"Exploding Gum!" Chris answered from the safety of his jet pack as he watched from a safe distance. Just as he said that, Mortisha fired off a couple rounds of exploding gum at Zelda, who skillfully dodged all of them with impressive flips and springs until she landed right in front of the creepy girl, her bo staff jabbed at her throat. "You're move, _pirate_." she growled. Mortisha took one look between Zelda's staff and the blunderbuss before raising it to the side of her head. "Hasta la vista, sucker!" she cackled as she pulled the trigger and shot a wad of explosive gum into her hair. The small explosion rocked the deck, causing everyone to fall to their feet as Mortisha was sent over the side, laughing with joy as she plummeted into the water was entangled in the tentacles of a large jellyfish. The light show that could only mean electric eels soon followed.

Micheal sighed and went back to attacking Maurananei with two of his hands, while the other two deflected blows from Zelda, now down a sparring partner. Micheal grunted and blocked a whack from Zelda's staff just as Maurananei swung her ax and hit him with the flat side of her blade. Micheal roared in pain and was forced to back up the steps to the helm as Zelda and Maurananei worked in unison, Zelda swinging low and Maurananei swinging high as Micehal was forced to retreat and defend himself with all four swords. Grunting, he thrust all of his swords forward, forcing the girls to fall back a bit as he raised all four swords for a grand finish. All of a sudden, two of his swords were knocked free from his hands to fall into the lake below. All three turned to look up in the crows nest to see Mitchell holding a ball of bright flame, flashing a smile before hurling another ball at Micheal. The Nisilaha crossed both swords over his face and deflected the hot coals back at Mitchell, hitting him square in the face and knocking him to the deck below. He moaned and sat up, only to hit from the side and pushed overboard by a Siberian Tiger clad in battle armor. The big cat roared as Mitchell screamed in pain, the eels and jellyfish making short work of him. The tiger followed the ripples of Mitchell swimming under the water to the ship's anchor, where the boy was already climbing the chain. Just when it seemed he would make it back up to the deck, both hands holding onto the railing and ready to haul him up, there was a hot searing pain in them, as if someone had dug red hot knives into them. Mitchell tilted his chin up to look at the pleased face of the tiger, its eyes almost taunting him.

"Long live the king, eh?" Mitchell said with a laugh as the tiger nodded its head and thrust him out and away from the boat to fall into the waters below, where the jellyfish and eels attacked him with renewed vigor. The tiger roared in triumph before returning to the battle, bounding across the large deck to come to Micheal's aid, and deciding to attack the girl dressed in pink. Yes, she would fill her belly for a couple of days, keep her hunger at bay until she was forced to hunt again. The silly girl didn't even know she was there, unaware that her life would soon end. She stalked closer, using a couple of barrels as cover before pouncing, claws outstretched and her teeth bared.

"Zelda! Behind you!" a voice yelled. The tiger then felt something smash into her, forcing her across the deck, keeping her from killing her prey. The big cat snarled and looked around. Where was her attacker? Was he invisible? Whatever he was, she could still smell him, ear his heavy breathing. It was as if he were right on top of her. And this proved to be correct when she felt a sharp tugging on her fur, causing her to yowl in pain and leap and run around on the deck, trying to buck off whatever was on top of her.

"Yee-HAW!" Alan cried as he rode rodeo on the tiger's back, pushing her towards the railing. His eyes danced with excitement when he saw Zelda looking his way, mouth agape as he tackled the six-hundred pound cat. Grunting, he yanked the fur to the left, the tiger following his commands and racing towards the railing and jumping into the air. Just before they both sailed over the edge, Alan jumped off and rolled to the deck, tucking in his arms and legs as the tiger fell to the water below, roaring in anger.

_**Confessional**_

"That was awesome!" Alan cried. He pumped a fist and danced around, laughing and whooping with joy. "I just wrestled with the biggest carnivore on the planet and won! In your face, Momma Nature!"

_**Change Confessional**_

"Normally, I don't forgive people who annoy me so quickly," Zelda said with a sly smile. "I think I'll make an exception for Alan." she said before realizing something. "And I'm _**not **_falling for him! I can't love a guy who's such a pervert, but I can at least be friends with him."

_**End Confessional**_

* * *

><p>Caroline sucked in a deep breath and drew her daggers and charged at Reese, who squeaked and deflected the blow just before the daggers could be driven into her shoulder. Caroline was on the offensive as she tried repeatedly to stab him, Reese only just barely deflecting her lethal attacks. "Why does Chris make us fight all the time?" she whined as the loud action music played on. Reese shrugged his shoulders thrusting his dagger forward to only have it blocked by Caroline. "I dunno, but I suspect Micheal likes it, but not as much as he likes you." Reese said absentmindedly.<p>

Caroline paused. "Wait what?" she asked as Reese rolled his wheelchair forward and hit her in the knees. She stumbled backwards, accidentally running into Alan, and both teens tilted over the railing and into the water below. Alan's cries of pain echoed across the deck. "Alan!" Zelda cried as she whacked Micheal over the head with her staff. She gave him another good whack before tossing her bo staff aside and diving over the side, the water churning as it was turned to foam. Moments later, a couple of dead jellyfish were thrown onto the deck, followed by a coughing Caroline and soaked Zelda with Alan over her shoulder. She threw him onto the deck and blocked an attack by Reese before picking him up, chair and all, and throwing him over the side, his panicked screams music to her ears.

"You saved me?" Alan coughed. Zelda nodded, a warm smile on her face. "Look, I know you like me and all, but I just can't love someone if all they want to see is my body. That's why I've decided to just be friends with you, but I will never be in love with you, perve." she told him.

"You're despicable." Alan said with a smile.

"Sticks and stones, luv. I saved your life, you saved mine. We're square."

"And _I'm _out of the challenge." Alan said with a pout.

"In that case . . ."Trey yelled before rushing forward and swinging his guitar, smacking Alan and Zelda in the face and sending them over the side. He turned to Caroline and growled, marching forward. Panicking, Caroline gave a low kick, sending Trey to the floor. Adrenaline as her fuel, she sprang up and grabbed hold of Trey's large frame, heaving him over her head and throwing him overboard, tossing him his bass guitar after a moments hesitation.

_**Confessional**_

"I don't think I've mentioned this before, but when it comes to lifting heavy objects, I suck. If it's a heavy animal, say a horse or a rhino, then it's pretty easy. And since Trey is a human, and humans are animals, throwing Trey overboard was a piece of cake!"

_**Change Confessional**_

"Note to self: stay on Caroline's good side." Trey said as he rubbed vinegar on his giant jellyfish stings, hissing in pain as the liquid seeped over the electric eel bites.

_**End Confessional**_

Furious, Caroline turned to face Anuok, the only other member of the Rhinos other than Micheal still on board. Yelling she charged forward, only to suddenly fell as Anuok lashed out with her anchor chain, tripping her. Anuok pulled the anchor chain back, swinging the small anchor over her head like a lasso and giving Caroline a "come at me" gesture. Caroline growled and surged forward, her daggers raised high. Anuok merely yawned and sidestepped the attack, Caroline rushing past her and crashing into a couple of barrels. Caroline lay in the wreckage as Anuok crept closer, her usual calm and determined face turning into something more scary. Caroline reached around frantically for something to defend herself and came up with a stick. Not just any ordinary stick, but _Zelda's _stick.

Anuok swung with the chain, the anchor end ready to smash in Caroline's skull. Caorline lashed out with the bo staff, and the anchor suddenly wrapped around it several times, the sharp end catching on one of the chain loops and holding it tight. Caroline grinned mischievously as Anuok paled slightly. With a yell, Caroline yanked back on the staff, pulling Anuok forward and slamming the mute girl into her own skull. The blow didn't hurt her at all, but it dazed Anuok. While she was dizzy, Caroline gripped the staff tighter and yanked back again, pulling Anuok towards her and swinging her high into the air. Caroline's smile broadened as she twisted the staff so that Anuok was being swung around and around and around and around, like she was on some crazy carnival ride as she silently screamed.

Caroline then lowered the staff a little, still twisting so Anuok kept spinning. Her goal was to hopefully throw her over the side and keep her from landing on the wreckage of the _Geoff's Pride _or climbing the anchor of the _Bridgette's Beauty_. She accomplished both goals in less than a minute, but also did something she instantly regret. As she swung Anuok for the twentieth time, she swung closer and closer to a duel Maurananei until she slammed right into her, carrying her across the deck and over the side of the railing as she cursed and both girls fell. The anchor loosened and fell with them as Caroline rushed over to the railing to see a ticked and wet Maurananei climbing up the hull of the ship, using her nails like claws. "Sorry!" Caroline called down.

"Never mind that! Just help me up!" Maurananei snapped. Caroline sighed and reached over with the staff in hand. She just a couple inches away when her grip loosened and the metal staff fell, conking Maurananei on the head and sending her to the depths. Caroline watched in horror as she fell and a dull thud could be heard behind her. Her face completely pale, she turned to see the hulking, twelve foot frame of Micheal, two large swords in two of his hands and a wicked grin on his face. "Sorry, Caroline. I know we're friends and all, but I just can't let a victory go. You understand." he cackled as Caroline gulped in fear.

_**Confessional**_

"Yes, I've tussled with Micheal before. But that time, he deliberately threw the challenge for me!" Caroline cried with worry. "He's gonna skin me alive!" she yelped.

_**End Confessional**_

The two teens warily circled each other like a pair of hungry lions, Caroline quivering and shaking as Micheal's heavy footsteps thudded against the wooden deck. He had lowered his swords so that they would slowly scrape the deck, creating a sound that sent shivers down Caroline's spine. His second pair of arms were slowly and deliberately smacking against each other, acting like the hands of a clock counting the precious minutes someone had to live. And with a startled yell from Caroline, the final battle begun. With a strangled yell, Caroline rushed forward, counting on her hidden strength to win the battle. Micheal was also counting on his strength to win. But unlike Caroline, he had weapons. Sharp, deadly weapons that thirsted for blood like hungry wolves during a famine.

As Caroline rushed forward, Micheal roared and raised his fists, slamming them down on the deck and sending a shock wave through the boat that tore away at the upper deck, wooden pieces jutting up here and there as it traveled along to meet Caroline, knocking her off her feet. As soon as she was down, she was up on her feet again, running and dashing about like a mad rabbit in the hopes of confusing the Nisilaha as she ran towards him, ready to punch him in the face and push over the side.

It didn't work.

With a yell, Caroline used a piece of broken deck as a springboard, soaring through the air to punch and kick Micheal in the face, only to caught in one large hand that seemed to dwarf her entire body. "Nice try, sweet thing, but it ain't gonna work. Caroline was now shaking like a leaf in a storm. "You're not gonna hurt me are you?" she asked.

"Tell me, do you know anything about Davy Jones?" Micheal asked her.

Caroline shook her head.

"Then no, I'm not going to hurt you. _They _are." he said with a smile, gesturing towards the angry jellyfish and snapping eels that circled the boat, hungry for food. Micheal gently set Caroline down on the deck and was soon engulfed in a flash of red light, signaling his time out. "Don't worry. As soon as I've won the challenge I'll come rescue you." he said with a grin. He reached for the Animatrix, and cycled through the list, Caroline watching with a worried look. She was so paralyzed with fear she couldn't move, not even to strike her opponent at his weakest.

_**THUMP.**_

"Did you hear something?" Micheal asked, his eyes never wavering from the Animatrix.

_**THUMP.**_

"Okay, seriously. What is that noise?" Micheal asked looking up. A loud squelching sound could be heard from the left side of the ship where both Caroline and Micheal were, a low moaning accompanying the sickening sound as the boat suddenly jerked to the left side and righted itself. Something was climbing on board. "Didn't I get rid of the rest of your team mates?" Micheal asked Caroline, whose face had gone from panic mode to slightly less afraid. She knew what the sound was. How whatever was making that sound ended up like this was beyond her, but she at least knew it would be friendly. To her anyway.

"Say hello to a little friend of mine." Caroline said with a smile as a massive mound of twisted body parts landed on the deck. Micheal jerked back in surprise as the pile of fleshy drew up to its full height and let out a roar that blew off his captain's hat. Micheal stumbled backward and fell against the mast, the activation button on his Animatrix getting pressed as it did. "Oh, that can't be good." he said with worry as the red light engulfed him. Caroline gasped as Micheal transformed, the watch flawlessly doing its work until it was done, changing the normal teenage boy into a gigantic animal, revealing to be an incredibly large _Brachiosaurus_.

The animal was over forty feet tall, and almost eighty five feet in length. It looked as if it weighed over thirty tons, and could crush even the biggest of today's land animals under its large feet. Th dinosaur gave a single roar before a loud cracking sound filled the air, the sound of splintering wood following it.

"I'm beginning to hate the watch of yours." was all Caroline managed to say before the entire pirate ship broke in two, sinking beneath the waves. For the briefest of seconds all three of them, Micheal, Caroline, and Kiko hovered there, before plunging down toward the water. Caroline screamed when she suddenly felt something slimy attached itself to her and pull back on itself. Caroline was yanked toward the messy pile of body parts and was then flung up towards the head of the _Brachiosaurus_, just before they all sank beneath the waves. Of course, being one of the largest animals in the history of the world, the water only came up to Micheal's massive sides and chest. Kiko sank beneath the waves, swimming towards the shore where two blonde smiled and waved.

"And we have a winner!" Chris announced. The dinosaur looked confused before Chris pointed up. Following his direction with his eyes, Micheal soon found a shivering Caroline clinging tightly to his skull. The animal roared, but admitted defeat as he lumbered to the shore, the lake water slapping at his sides as he moved through the lake and up to the shore, completely dwarfing everyone there as his footsteps shook the earth.

* * *

><p>"You've all cast your votes tonight," Chris began with his usual campfire drawl. "If I throw you a marshmallow, you're safe. And if you don't get one-"<p>

"You will voted off the island, fired out of the Torpedo of Shame, and you can't come back ever, blah, blah, blah, blabitty-blah. Get on with it." a disgruntled Micheal growled. Chris glared at him, but reached for a marshmallow anyways.

"Reese." The small boy cheered and caught his marshmallow, coughing up a little bit of water as he did. As no one was able to catch him right away, he had sunk to the bottom of the lake, and had stayed down there for the better part of the challenge until Anuok came to his rescue and gave him CPR.

"Trey." The wet musician, still dressed in pirate uniform, caught his marshmallow in one hand and shoved it into his mouth, chewing slowly. In truth, he was barely paying attention, his mind wandering back to that dream he had had earlier. What did it mean? And why did he like the girl in his dream so much? It reminded him of someone, but he just couldn't put his finger on it.

"Toni." Chris said, tossing the marshmallow to the ground. Toni growled and pounced on it like a cat, grabbing it in her teeth and shaking her head from side to side until she tore a piece of it off, snapping it off in her jaws and swallowing it with a savage smile on her face as everyone starred at her.

"Um, Anuok." Chris said with a slightly scared voice. The silent girl caught the delicious treat in her hands and popped it in her mouth, smiling at Reese. One marshmallow left on the plate, and two campers left.

"Mortisha! You decided playing with toxic jellyfish and electric eels would be more fun than helping your team win the challenge. Pretty good reason to boot you off." Chris said as Mortisha sulked. She had enjoyed the event very much, not even minding that the electric eels had stopped and started her heart several times before she was dragged to shore. And now she might be going home just because she was trying to have fun.

"Micheal! You came, you saw, and kicked butt easily. But sadly, your aggression got the best of you and you sank the only ship keeping you dry Plus the fact that you _**DESTROYED MY COTTAGE**_ is good reason to send you packing." Chris said angrily.

"It was a freakin' mansion!" Micheal argued. "You don't call something that big a 'cottage'!"

Chris rolled his eyes and picked the marshmallow up in two fingers. One camper was staying, and one was going. Personally, he didn't care which one it was. If he had to choose, well . . .

_**Confessional**_

"I'll admit, I probably went a little too far when battling Caroline," Micheal said with a heavy sigh. "That's all I'm saying. Might as well end on a good note before I go home."

_**End Confessional**_

"Just give Mortisha the stupid marshmallow already," Micheal sighed. "We all know I'm probably going home."

Chris smiled his famous grin. "That's what you think!" he said, tossing Micheal the marshmallow. The teen was so shocked, the juicy treat just fell to the ground, where a hungry Toni quickly devoured it in a way similar to a crocodile, death roll and all. "Say what? Why are you sending her home? All she did was take a dive! I sunk a ship, blew our chances at winning, and destroyed Chris's freakin' cottage!"

"Mansion!" Chris corrected.

"WHATEVER!" Micheal roared. "Why the heck am I not being stuffed into a torpedo capsule right now?" His team mates shrugged, looking between themselves for answers.

"I dunno. Probably because we need you." Toni said with a shrug.

"Plus, that watch of yours is simply awesome!" Reese laughed. Micheal rolled his eyes before turning to Mortisha. "Hey, um. I dunno, uh. Good luck?" he said, sticking out a hand for the creepy girl to shake. Mortisha starred at it, and Micheal was worried he somehow offended her when she suddenly pulled him into a hug. Caught off guard, Micheal stood there for few seconds before hugging her back, gesturing for the rest of the team to come in. The others shared a shrug and joined them, Mortisha finally feeling complete inside. "You not have had any friends when you got here, but you have at least five when you leave." Micheal told her. "Either way, you're still scary."

Mortisha laughed. "Eh, I'll take what I can get. You guys at the finale!" she laughed before breaking free of the group and running full speed to the docks, a disgruntled Chef minutes behind her. A couple seconds later, the submarine fired, the capsule exploding about a mile away. Chef just stood on the docks with a shocked look on his face before shaking his head and walking off back to his trailer to catch some sleep.

* * *

><p>"I told you, it wasn't finished yet!" Zelda yelled, berating the hulking beast before her as she worked feverishly on the watch that stuck fast between Kiko's eyes. She stood firmly on Kiko's large claw, hoisted up in the air by a couple feet so she could work while the others were partying in the Hangout of Awesomeness once more. "Wheeeeet 'appenen?" Kiko asked, her vocal cords barely working.<p>

Zelda shrugged as she wiped the sweat from her brow. "I don't know exactly what you call it, but because the watch wasn't complete, the selection feature wasn't fully operational. When you selected the _Ursus arctos horribilius, _you accidentally switched to the next organism, an _Enteroctopus dofleini_, you accidentally caused the animal's DNA to become infused with yours, creating your first form. How all the other parts that you currently control came to be is beyond me. On the bright side, the effect is reversible. I just need to . . . . there!" Zelda said with satisfaction. She then raised a fist and punched the watch face with all her might before jumping back. A loud beeping sound echoed through the cave before a bright flash of purple light engulfed Kiko. The fins and gills suddenly vanished, as if they had never been there. The layer of fish scales simply fell off, like a shed skin. The jointed crab legs sucked themselves back into Kiko's hips with a sickening slurping sound as the tip of the tentacle split into five bent rods. The crab claw shrank and simply vanished into thin air as the anemone tentacles on her head became locks of human hair. She could now see in color again and see better in general. The slimy tail was sucked back into her spine as the shark fins faded into her back. The turtle shell softened and returned back to human skin that was quickly covered by cloth. The glowing antennae was slurped back into her skull as teeth became normal once more and every last barnacle fell off. She was human once more.

Kiko sat on her knees in the mouth of the cave, breathing heavily as the watch on her wrist glowed purple, awaiting its next command. She didn't move as Zelda knelt down and tapped a hidden button, and the watch suddenly let go of Kiko's wrist. "I would suggest hiding that in a better place." Kiko said as she rubbed her wrist.

"Is that the closest thing I'll ever get to an apology?" Zelda asked.

"Yep."

"Consider it done.

* * *

><p>Caroline sighed as she shoveled in the last of the fresh straw. The stables were finally clean, every last piece of manure gone, and the stalls refilled with fresh hay. She sucked in a deep breath and rested on her pitch fork as the horses came wandering back in, each to their own stall after a day outside. It seemed to have done them some good anyways. They all ready looked bigger and more filled than before. And they had of course, been friendly and actually listened when she told them about Micheal, everything from the him saving her from the rock slide to his sudden hatred towards her. The horses thought he was a jerk.<p>

"Can we talk?"

Caroline turned to see a nervous Micheal at the entrance to stables. The watch on his wrist was turned black, apparently in recharge mode. Before she could say anything, two horses leaped in front of her, rearing onto their hind legs and kicking out with their sharp hooves. Micheal backed away as Caroline sighed. "Roger, James, calm down. His Animatrix is in recharge mode. He couldn't hurt me if he wanted to. Besides, I've got a weapon and he doesn't." she said, gesturing towards the pitch fork. The horses gave a questioning look, but clopped into their separate stalls, Caroline closing the doors behind them. "What do you want to talk about?" she asked as she sat down on a bale of hay, exhausted from the night's work.

Micheal sighed and sat down on a bale of hay opposite of her. "Look, I just wanted to say I'm sorry about earlier. About my actions and the way I treated you so to speak."

"Go on."

Micheal sighed again and continued on. "I don't know what came over me. It just sort of happened."

"Reese said that you liked me." Caroline suddenly said, causing Micheal to fall off his bale of hay and onto the floor, which smelled distinctly of manure. The horses whined with delight before Caroline through them a look, instantly quieting them down. "He said what?" Micheal asked.

"That you liked me. Is that true?" Caroline asked, her face showing no emotion. Inside, she was panicking, not sure of how to act or talk. She was surprised she was keeping cool under such conditions, and was near the breaking point, but she kept her cool and the pitch fork trained on Micheal. "Um, I guess?" Micheal tried, only to have the butt of the pitchfork slam into his side, knocking the wind out of him. "I'm sorry, what was that?" Caroline asked.

"Yes! Yes, I like you! I like you! Just don't hit me with that thing again!" Micheal yelled as he managed to let air back into his lungs. He stood up on shaky feet, towering over Caroline, even as she stood up to her full height. "That's all I needed to know." she said with a smile before lunging forward and tackling Micheal to the ground and taking him by surprise. Micheal cried out, but his lips were so covered by hers, locked in kiss. Micheal quit struggling and pulled Caroline further into the kiss. The small girl was practically giddy with joy, everything over her entire lifetime ebbing away in that kiss, all the pain and misery the world have given her. And now, she had found a second spec of hope in the endless sea of tragedy. And she knew she wouldn't sink anytime soon.

* * *

><p>"And thus concludes another episode!" Chris announced with his trade mark grin. "Will Kiko listen to Zelda more often? Will Caroline and Micheal remain a couple? Will Trey lose his sanity? And can my teeth possibly get any whiter?" Chris asked. "All of these and more, probably won't be answered next time! On Total! Drama! Pahkitew's Vengeance!" Chris cried, a slurping sound distracting him. He turned to see Bridgette and Geoff making out on one of the campfire logs, oblivious to Chris even being there. "Ugh. Get a room, will ya?" Chris sighed as he averted his eyes.<p>

**And . . . . . . done! Finally! I swear, I rewrote this thing at least three times before I got this done. FYI, I borrowed some quotes from _Pirates of the Caribbean _if anyone noticed. I'm also putting this out, stating that I own nothing related to the Pirates at all. And thus concludes by longest chapter as well! Huh. Anyways, be sure to leave a comment in the reviews, or PM if you have complaints, ideas, requests, or suggestions for next time. And don't forget to check out your OC on Deviantart! The directions are at the start of the chapter if you didn't look before.**

**Oh! One more thing! I've been thinking about doing an Aftermath for this season! I wasn't sure if I should go with it or not, so I'm leaving that up to you guys! Geoff and Bridgette will of course still be hosting, but who knows what could happen? Let me know what you think, and I will have the _hauntingly _awesome chapter up next month!**

**Hasta Luego!**


	5. I Scream, You Scream

**Greetings, ladies and gentlemen. The story you are about to read may disturb you. It may shock you. It may even HORRIFY YOU!**

**HACK! _(coughs up a hairball)_**

**You've been warned.**

_**(Lightning flashes as eerie music fills the background)**_

"Last time, on Total Drama: Pahkitew's Vengeance; we had a swashbuckling adventure on the high seas, swinging swords, wrestling tigers, and even firing a team mate out of a cannon! Kiko lost both her cool and her beautiful looks when she ignored Zelda's warning and tried on an incomplete Animatrix; Caroline and Micheal hooked up, making the first couple of the season; and Maurananei TRASHED BY COTTAGE!" Chris roared with anger.

"It was a freakin' mansion!" Maurananei argued from somewhere off screen. Chris ignored her and continued along with last episode's summary. "This time, we'll be sure to make this the most terrifying challenge yet!" Chris cackled as he held a lit flashlight up to his face on the dark night. He turned to see Chef walking down the dock to meet him, dressed in a pink, fairy princess outfit complete with plastic wings, wand, and tiara. Chris shuddered. "What are you wearing?" he asked.

"Costumes was all out of monsters," was all Chef would say. Chris shuddered once more before continuing, averting his eyes from his sparsely dressed co-host and cook. "Who will win? Who will lose? Who pee their pants and scare the crap out of everyone else on Total! Drama! Pahkitew's Vengeance!"

_**(theme song)**_

It was a couple days after the elimination ceremony. The moon was full once more, and an eerie fog had crept across the grounds, shrouding the hundreds of glowing eyes that peeked out into the cold night. A lone wolf howled somewhere off in the wilderness as a cloud of bats flew past the moon and a cool wind blew across the island, causing the numerous tree branches to rattle together like bones. In a tall tree, inside a tree house made of scrap metal and boards, Reese cowered under his bed covers. He had been cleared by Chef dressed in a nurse's outfit (nearly giving him a heart attack in the process) and was removed from his wheelchair, only sporting a couple of bandages wrapped around his head. An owl hooted somewhere outside. Reese squeaked and dove under the covers, shivering as the others all rested in their bunks. Trey was sleeping peacefully, snoring with a little drool dripping from his lip as he hugged his guitar tightly, moving every so slightly when his dreams were plagued with instrument-stealing Sasquatches. Micheal dozed above him, an arm dangling over the side as he snored.

Across from the boy was Toni, in the form of a snow leopard to combat against the cool nights. The covers on her bed lay in shreds, as she no longer needed them with a thick fur coat and a fluffy tail wrapped around her jaw like a scarf. Her muscled form rose and fell, almost looking ghost like in the moon light that shone in through the open window. Anuok slept just above her, arms folded over her chest as she slept peacefully, unaware of a large, hooded figure that was creeping across the forest floor just outside the window. The person was dressed from head to toe in black, carrying a large, burlap sack over his shoulder as he snuck over to the base of tree and began to climb the rope ladder. He was half way there when it suddenly snapped under his weight and fell to the ground, landing with a loud _thud _and a lot of cursing. A few moments later, a metal grappling hook loudly clanged against the deck of the tree house, hooking on the railing securely as the rope was pulled a couple times to be sure. The figure then began his assent again, finally making it up to the deck after a couple of minutes and succeeding in not falling again. He tip toed across the deck and ducked under the low frame of the tree house, sneaking quietly down the row of bunk beds. Anuok suddenly started in her sleep, and the figure dove beneath the bunk, waiting until she resumed her slumber once more. The intruder breathed a sigh of relief and and crept out from under the bunk and turned around to look at the magnificent animal that lay on the bunk before him. His eyes traced over the glorious fur, the wicked sharp claws, and the sharp fangs that were just barely hidden under the lethal jaws. He sucked in a deep breath and reached into the burlap sack, pulling a handkerchief. With a shaky hand, he moved it towards the leopard's face, fully sure that the cat would wake up and maul him, blowing his cover. He set the cloth over the animal's nose and waited a few seconds as the knock out liquid spilled on the cloth did its work, sending the animal into a deeper sleep. He pulled back and with an arm shouldered the snow leopard into the open burlap sack before creeping down the row of bunk beds again, flinching as a floorboard squeaked under his feet.

He finally approached the bunk he was looking for, looking at the top bunk instead of the bottom. The musician was to remain there, to participate in the challenge; it was the Watch Wearer he wanted. He slowly reached into his sack again, pausing when his hand brushed against an exposed fang of the snow leopard, and pulled out another hankie. He then moved it towards the boys mouth, a lot more confident than before as he set the cloth on the victims face.

Big mistake.

_**Confessional**_

"When you're the wearing of what might be the most powerful weapon in the galaxy," Micheal began with a yawn. "You learn to be a light sleeper."

_**End Confessional**_

The boys eyes flashed open, and the hidden figure jerked back, dropping his sack in the process. The boy's eyes flashed with anger as he instantly reached for his watch, activating it without even looking as he jumped down from his bunk to the floor, a red light engulfing him. Seconds later, the figure was facing off against a large black bear, its sharp claws exposed as it rose up on its hind legs to stand even with the figure. While black bears were mostly herbivorous, that didn't mean they weren't armed with deadly weapons; large claws were attached to the front paws, and large teeth were exposed from the saliva filled mouth. The bear dropped down to all fours and rammed the figure in the gut with its head, pushing him a couple feet back. The bear readied for another charge when he felt a slight prick in his shoulder. He turned with wary eyes to see a small needle with a colorful, feathered end sticking out of his shoulder. It meant nothing to him. The figure fired two more darts from the mouth of a blow gun before the bear dropped to floor, breathing heavily. The figure smiled wickedly as he stuffed the bear with some difficulty into the sack; the tranquilizer darts _had _come in handy. The bulky person then ran back to the entrance and tossed the bag over the side, unhooking the grappling hook before jumping over the railing and landing on the sack without any concern for the animals inside.

* * *

><p>Zelda yawned as the credits of a horror movie, <em>Night of the Living McClains<em>, rolled past the screen, casting the the room in a dim light. Next to her, a drooling Alan dozed on the couch, his legs lying over her lap as he slept. Zelda smirked and pushed them off her lap, nearly breaking out into laughter as his legs slid to the floor, followed closely by his unconscious body. He was sleeping face down in a sticky soda stain that had occurred when he had dropped his drink during a scary part of the movie. Zelda yawned and lay back on the sofa, letting her snaps blink shut. Soon, she was asleep as well.

Across the room, Maurananei, Caroline, and Mitchell were asleep on another sofa, a game of Mario Kart paused on the large TV screen. A bowl of popcorn was spilled out onto the floor, kernels getting everywhere as the trio peacefully slept. Kiko was passed out on the floor in front of them, a cup of soda still clutched in her hands as she snored loudly. The garage door rumbled open a couple of feet, and a figure dressed in black crept inside on his fingers and toes, the cold moonlight streaming into the dark bunker. The intruder straightened up drawing up to his full, hunched height. Another burlap was thrown over his shoulder as he crept through the maze of chip bags and candy wrappers, careful to avoid stray popcorn and chips. The figure silently crept in front of the paused game and grabbed Kiko in his large hands, stuffing her into the bag as he reached for Mitchell and instantly yanked back his hands, a small trail of smoke curling from his gloved finger tips. How the couch wasn't on fire was beyond him, but he had come prepared just in case. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of heavy, thick gloves, designed to resist high temperatures. He then grabbed hold of Mitchell's arm and pulled him quietly off the couch, wincing as the controller dropped to the floor and Maurananei's head, which had been resting on Mitchell's shoulder, fell to the couch. The girl then mumbled something about marrying Chef in three days, which caused the figure to visible shudder as he tossed Mitchell in the bag.

The dark figure then reached into his pocket a second time, pulling out a sheet of paper. The figure quickly read it over, glancing between a list and a dozing Caroline before shoving the piece of paper back into his pocket and tip toeing out of the bunker and rolling the door shut behind him, as if he had never been there.

* * *

><p>"Wakey, wakey?" a deep feminine voice said as something sharp poked her gently in the side. Toni blinked open her eyes to see seven people standing around her, two of them boys and four of them girls. One of them resembled a boy, but he had some distinct features that Toni remembered all too well; a few strands of greasy hair, bloodshot eyes, crooked teeth, pale, green skin. Another one resembled what used to be a girl. She now stood almost twelve feet tall and had spiky green hair with reptilian eyes. Her toughened skin was a deep orange, random spikes popping out at her elbows and neck. Her hands were decorated with claws, and a short tail stuck out behind her. What made it even more strange was that the monster was wearing a tight, slightly torn, pink tank top with a pair of torn magenta pants that didn't even reached her knees. The monster was gently poking her awake with one of her giant claws until Micheal told her to stop. "We need to talk." was all he said. She nodded her head, and focused on an image in her head, a human girl. The changes soon began.<p>

Her fur was the first thing to go, being slowly sucked back into her like hundreds of pieces of spaghetti. Dark, soft, human skin emerged as her sharp claws became duller and the paws split into five thin rods. The ears slid down from the top of her head as if they were on molten steel, become pinkish and rounded as they moved. Her powerful muscles slowly succumbed to the transformation, becoming weaker and weaker as the long tail slurped back up into her spine. The large monster gasped when she saw this, clearly interested, while a few of the others watched with sick curiosity. The rest of them were clearly unaffected, having seen it before. The sharp canines became smaller and more flatter looking, resembling those of an ape. The final transformation were the return of dark, hazel eyes. Toni had returned. She stretched and stood up, she and everyone else completely dwarfed by the large, orange skinned monster that stood next to her. To her left was a frowning Kiko and Mitchell. In front of her was Micheal and Anuok. Next to them was a small, cloaked figure with the odd boy mentioned before sitting on his haunches, looking her curiously. Next to him was one of the few things that scared the crap out of Toni. None other than Izzy, the crazy psycho-hose beast that the RCMP had been chasing down for almost three seasons. "Where are we?" Toni asked.

Micheal sighed. "I have no freaking idea. All I know is that one moment I'm fighting this robber that broke into our tree house, and the next I'm in this room with three tranquilizers in me." The others shared a similar story, minus the darts stuck in them. She felt a heavy tapping on her shoulder and turned to see the monster standing next to her. "Can you reach for Dakota?" she growled in staggered English, pointing her back at a small, feathered dart that look like a speck on her massive form. Toni blinked but slowly nodded. She quickly turned to her team mates. "Is that who I think it is?" she asked quietly. Mitchell nodded. "Yup. None other than Total Drama's biggest contestant, the Dakotazoid." he said with a smirk. Toni rolled her eyes and jumped up, reaching for the dart. She jumped a second time and grabbed hold of the dart, wincing as Dakota roared in slight pain before sighing with relief. "Chef got dart in deep." she said nonchalantly, catching everyone's attention. "Wait, wait, wait. Run that by me one more time?" Kiko said with shock.

"Chef shoot fluffy things at Dakota after Dakota destroy store at mall. Not pretty." Dakota explained, having to look down at them to even speak. She flinched slightly as Kiko's face boiled with rage. The others, even Izzy, the cloaked figure, and the smelly Ezekiel backed off. Inside, Kiko was practically on fire, an erupting volcano of rage. Whenever Chef was involved in something, it usually, no _always _meant that Chris was behind it. "CHRIS! WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU, YOU'RE GONNA WISH YOU NEVER LEFT NEW FOUNDLAND!" she roared, causing even Dakota to cower in fear. Kiko calmed down and slumped to the floor, when something caught her eye. She looked down to her wrist and nearly screamed bloody murder.

On her wrist, was her bootleg Animatrix.

The last time she had that thing, she had been horribly mutated into a vicious monster due to a slight error in the Animatrix's programming. And that had only happened a couple hours ago. She quickly hid her wrist behind her back before anyone could notice. A small beeping sound sounded off behind her, drawing everyone's attention as a large, flat screen TV lowered itself from the ceiling and blinked on to show Chris with a smug grin on his face. The contestants, ex and participating, walked over to the screen as Chris began to speak.

"Welcome losers and freaks of all species!" Chris began. "You're probably wondering why you're here. And trust me, all will be explained later. Right after I do this!" the sadistic host exclaimed as he pulled out yet another remote control of his and pressed yet another of the big red buttons. The whining of a door rolling open could be heard as Chris cackled maniacally. And then came a sound that every single person in the room instantly feared and knew it would haunt them with nightmares for the rest of their days.

"Total!" "Total!" "Drama!" "Total!" "Drama!" Drama!" Drama!" "Total!"

"Why us!?" Mitchell screamed in terror as hundreds of Chris-bots stalked into the room, their arms reaching forward for them as they repeated their constant promoting speech of "Total!" and "Drama!". The teens began backing up as the Chris-bots edged forward, Chris watching the whole thing with his evil smile on his face. It was only for a few minutes before anyone even came up with a plan.

Of course, that person was Izzy.

"Don't worry, guys! Izzy's got a plan!" she cried before jumping into the air over their heads and landing next to a startled Micheal. The red head grabbed onto his wrist as Micheal shook it vigorously, screaming at the top of his lungs as Izzy violated him. She quickly tapped a finger on the Animatrix watch face and cycled through the list as Micheal continued to yell, before she selected an animal. With a crazy grin that sent shivers down everyone's spine, she slapped the watch and stepped back as the familiar red light engulfed Micheal, changing his DNA from the molecular scale up. He grew bigger and longer, almost the length of a school bus. He towered over all of them, even the mighty Dakota as his head became enormous. A long tail sprouted from his spine and reached out almost ten feet before stopped. When the red light vanished, a large and incredibly power _Tyrannosaurus Rex_ stood before them, unleashing a loud roar that shook the entire room.

"You!" Izzy shouted, turning to a surprised Dakota. "Get on the lizard!"

"Dakota don't understand."

"GET ON THE DINOSAUR!" Izzy yelled, a furious look in her eyes. Dakota quickly climbed onto Micheal's back without argument as the Chris-bots came closer and closer. Once Dakota was in place, Izzy turned to the rest of the cast and began barking out orders, everyone too scared to argue or complain.

"Animal girl, turn into a rhino!" "Pyro-boy, set something on fire!" "Zekey, vomit on something!"

"Bossy girl, hit someone over the head with something!". That last one prompted Kiko to rip a panel from the wall and chuck at Izzy's head, the crazy girl easily dodging it with a wide grin. She continued on Kiko silently cursed in her head. "Um, Freak Cloak Guy or Gal? Do, uh, something!" she yelled, realizing she had no idea who the mystery person was. The black figure merely nodded and assumed a fighting stance, revealing a pair of thin, white, ankles. Well, at least they all knew if the person was a guy or girl. No man had ankles that thin.

"CHARGE!" Izzy yelled as she jumped onto Toni's back and urged the rhinoceros forward. As one, they all charged at the sea of Chris-bots, like a rogue tidal wave in the ocean. Chris-bots flew into the air as the two groups collided, and if one were to glance up from the battle, they would see Chris sitting back with a bucket of popcorn and a wide smile on his face.

"Dakota! Catch!" Kiko yelled as she ripped two arms off a Chris-bot, quickly disabling as she tossed the mutant girl the appendages and moved onto the next one, ramming her head into its chest. Dakota caught both arms, and with a quick motion of her sharp claws, whittled them in sharp swords about as long as her arm. She tossed Izzy one, increasing their fire-power as their mounts stormed their way through the masses. Micheal bellowed as he bit into a Chris-bot and tore off the upper torso, tossing it into a group of robots heading his way as he crushed several more under his feet. His roars of anger filled the chamber with a constant noise, often mixed in with the dying words of Chris-bots and battle cries of the other fighters.

Mitchell soon find himself fighting back to back with the freak formerly known as Ezekiel. The mutant boy would fire streams of acid from his jaws, attacking Chris-bots that got too close with his claws and teeth as Mitchell slung ball after ball of hot coals. Any robots stupid enough to come too close were soon melted into bubbling pools of hot metal that eventually cooled into a sort of armor on his skin which sometimes worked to his advantage. Every now and then, a large platoon of Chris-bots heading their way would be barreled into from the side by Toni's large bulk or Micheal's massive head, effectively creating a sort of safe zone around them.

The mystery person fought alone, keeping her cloak over her head to keep her identify a secret. If anyone knew who she was, it would raise questions. And she hated answering questions. She let that hatred drive her forward as she punched her fist straight through a Chris-bots chest, tearing out its inner workings and throwing them at another bots head to blind it, quickly dismembering it when it was blind. Of course, the Chris-bots weren't completely defenseless; they fought back with surprising strength, sometimes lifting Toni off the ground and tossing her across the room, only to come right back and with a sharp rhino horn through a droid's gut. Although they only tried it once, several Chris-bots put together were more than enough to lift the combined weight of Dakota and Micheal, leaving massive dents in the walls when the two were unlucky enough to be in such a situation. Izzy suddenly gave an insane yell as she jumped off Toni's back and into a fray of Chris-bots, swinging her sword like a mad man as she cut through them with ease.

After what seemed hours, the last Chris-bot was squished under Micheal's large talons, just before the large dinosaur collasped to the ground, breathing heavily. Dakota climbed off his back and fell to the ground next to him, exhausted. The others were quick to follow, all utterly pooped after their brawl.

"That was the single greatest thing I have ever seen in my life!" Chris exclaimed, standing up in his chair and applauding. "And now, time for the sequel." he suddenly said with a grin on his face. He pressed yet another remote button and the lights in the room went out, putting the room into total blackness. Only the dim light of the TV lit up the room as Chris's image suddenly disappeared to be replaced with large black and white swirl. The image began to the spin as the contestants were helpless to watch. Chris's calming voice suddenly come out over an intercom, a low, calming voice that was both soothing and terrifying at the same time.

"You are getting sleepy . . . . . . very, very sleepy . . . . ." he said. One by one, the contestant's eyes drooped shut, lulled to sleep by the swirling image and lulling voice. "When I snap my fingers, you will be under my complete and total control . . . . . ." Chris said.

"We will be under your complete and total control." the contestants said in unison. Well, most of them. Micheal and Toni merely grunted and growled, but Chris was pretty sure it was the same thing.

"1. . . . 2 . . . . 3"

_**SNAP!**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!<strong>_

"AAH!" Caroline cried as she jolted up and hit her head on something hard that was positioned right above her. She hissed in pain and looked up to stare at the bottom of a bunk bed. And from the swear words she heard above, it sounded like Trey was above her. She crawled off the bunk to see that it was still dark outside. In fact, she was outside; the entire bunk bed had somehow appeared right out in the middle of the woods. "What the-" Caroline said as she looked around to find a couple other bunks surrounding her own with Reese, Anuok, Zelda, Maurananei and Alan in them. "Where are we?" she asked.

"You, my clueless competitors, are on Bony Island!" a voice said, saying the last part in as creepy as voice as possible. Everyone turned to see a lone flat screen TV mounted on a lone trolly in the woods. On the screen was none other than Chris. A crack of lightning flashed across the sky as the contestants walked up to the TV, curious and both scared to learn more. "Why are we here?" Alan asked, yawning. Chris merely smiled his terrifying grin before continuing. "Because, dear Alan, it is time for your next challenge!"

The cast groaned. Most of them anyway. One them however, noticed something amiss.

"Where are Micheal, Mitchell, Kiko, and Toni?" Zelda asked. The rest of the cast looked at her before taking a look around them, some of them in disbelief in the fact that they actually missed four of the most powerful contestants of the season. Chris chuckled. "Oh, you'll find out." he said with tone that sent shivers down everyone's spine. "Tonight, you goal is to make it to the safe house at the other end of the island. Along the way, you'll find small chests with keys inside them. Each key will only work on the door once, and only one person may use said key. Get everyone inside your team's safe house and stay there the whole night to win the challenge." Chris explained. Hidden beneath the screen, Chris was crossing his fingers, hoping against hope that one of the contestants would spout out that one question that made the game interesting. And by interesting, he meant deadly.

"Is that all there is to it?" Alan asked just before Trey and Anuok clapped their hands over his mouth.

It was too late tough.

Chris cackled, loving the sound of that question. "I'm glad you asked, Alan! You see, nobody has ever been able to survive a night on Bony Island. And not just because of the savage wildlife." he added before anyone could interrupt him with a snarky quip. Alan was about to add something else when he was interrupted by a loud roar coming from the wilderness beyond, a flock of crows flying away from the source. Another roar echoed across the island, joined by another roar of anger until the air was filled with hungry, savage calls of monsters. The contestants huddled together in fear until the noise died down.

"If your wondering what those noises are, notice that you are missing a couple of team mates." Chris chuckled. Everone's faces immediately; every person who had some power or other was gone, meaning they were somewhere in the woods. Stalking them, hunting them down. Everyone huddled together. Well, everyone but Maurananei, who was shaking in fury. She quickly ran over to a tree and gave it a solid punch, knocking it over into the lake, where it whacked an unfortunate shark over the noggin. Chris visibly flinched as Maurananei walked back over to the group.

_**Confessional**_

"Does he have to rub the whole "You don't have a super power" thing in my face everytime! Gah!" Maurananei yelled.

_**Change Confessional**_

"Mom, if you're listening, I just want you to know I love you," Reese squeaked as he curled up into a fetal position and rocked back and forth on his heels, shivering. "The reason I say that is because I highly doubt I'll make it out of here alive."

_**Change Confessional**_

"The odds of any of us surviving this are about 40:60." Zelda began. "The odds of me, Maurananei, and Trey surviving this challenge are about 50:50. The odds of Caroline and Alan surviving this challenge are about 30:70." Zelda listed off on her fingers. "The odds of Reese surviving this without any therapy required? 5:95. I sure hope he has a will written out."

_**End Confessional**_

"Now, before we begin, you each must where one of the shirts provided at the base of your bunk. Guys wear one shirt, girls wear another." Chris said. The contestants walked over to their bunks and slipped on the required wear over their regular clothing before returning. All the girls wore a deep pink tank top that barely reached down to their midsection with small, pink ruffles at the sleeves. The boys all wore a large long-sleeved shirt with a thick yellow stripe across the middle and two orange stripes on either side of it. The shirts were so big, that Reese looked like he was wearing an entire body suit. "Oh! And one more thing." Chris said with a chuckle. "You can _not _take those off. If you do, you will instantly be eliminated, as in no bonfire ceremony, no voting, no marshmallow! Just you and a one way ticket to the Torpedo of Shame!" Chris announced.

"Are there any questions?" Chris asked.

A couple of the contestants raised their hands, and for once Chris was ready to answer them. "Yes, Reese?"

"Why do we have to wear these things?" Reese asked, gesturing with his floppy sleeves to his oversized shirt. "Mine itches. And it _reeks_!"

"Those will hinder your movements and make things more interesting. For me anyway." Chris explained. "Now, are there anymore questions, or can sit back and watch you all die with some popcorn?" Chris joked, drawing unamused looks from the players. "Oh. One more thing. The main reason nobody's ever spent a night on the island, is because they were frightened off by The Spirit of Bony Isle!" Chris exclaimed, a flashlight turning on under his chin and casting his face in eerie shadows. "The spirit will posses one of your loved ones or unloved ones and turn them against you until it has claimed you as well! Which, is exactly what happened to your team mates!" Chris said, drawing gasps from the campers. Caroline looked like she was on the verge of tears; Reese and Alan shared a collective gulp; Anuok and trey looked worried; Zelda looked somewhat indifferent. "Now, are there anymore questions? No? Alright then. GO!" Chris yelled, blasting his air horn and sending a cloud of bats off into the night.

* * *

><p>"Seriously, why do these shirts stick so much?" Trey complained. "It smells worse than my breath after a night at the bar." Reese cocked an eyebrow. "You drink? How old are you?" he asked with a concerned tone. Trey rolled his eyes. "Relax. I drink responsibly. And if I don't, I always have someone to drive me back safely; haven't had a drunk driving ticket in years." he said with a light chuckle. Anuok remained silent, as usual, and pressed on through the woods, shoving aside brush and holding back branches that would have otherwise smacked her team mates in the face.<p>

"Hey, Anuok?" Reese asked. The silent girl turned back to look down at the small boy.

"Do you believe in that ghost story Chris told us?"

Anuok merely shrugged and continued, Reese nervously biting his fingernails as Trey took up the rear. They marched single file through the woods as the wind blew through the trees, their long, twisted branches seeming to reach for them like giant claws. An owl hooted from somewhere and Reese yelped in fright, jumping into Trey's arms and refusing to walk on his own. Trey sighed and followed Anuok, carrying Reese in his arms as they went. Wet leaves slapped at their face, and Reese spent half the time spitting out wads of them out of his mouth, which wouldn't have happened had he been walking, Trey pointed out.

"Excuse me for having a good reason to be terrified!" Reese shot back. "We've just been dropped in the middle of nowhere on a haunted island by a mad man, whose turned our own super powered friends against us!"

Trey was about to say something else when Anuok held up a hand, signaling them to be quiet. The two instantly stopped complaining and listened. Silence, for the most part, filled the air. The wind would howl, and owl would occasionally hoot from somewhere, the sound of water dripping into a puddle. Then they heard it; a low growling sound among the constant crunching of dried leaves. The movements were so quiet one had to strain to here them. Anuok gestured for them to come closer, pointing at something beyond a large bush. The two boys pushed forward to glance through the brush, their hearts nearly stopping at what stood before them.

In a shaft of moonlight in the dark forest, was a large animal. It stood on four, bent legs with sharp, red claws at the end of each black foot. It had a black and white color scheme, but this was difficult to confirm as the creature's outline seemed to shimmer and change color at will. Three rows of red spikes ran down its back, all the way to its red tipped tail. The majority of the animal resembled a lizard, so nothing new to see there. What caught their attention however, was the head. The gums of the animal stuck straight out of its maw, the razor, sharp, needle-like teeth interlocking like a bear trap. It had four, narrow red eyes on its head and a black face with white patches on either side. Several slits ran down the animal on the neck, which opened and closed occasionally as it sniffed the ground. To make matters worse, a thick collar with a silver and red color scheme was around its neck.

Micheal.

"What is that thing?" Reese squeaked, his voice barely audible. Trey was about to say something when he felt a warm sensation near his hand. He instantly yelled in disgust as he vigorously washed his hand in a nearby puddle of water, Reese grinning nervously.

_**Confessional**_

"I guess I sorta have bladder control issues when I'm terrified." Reese said nervously, tapping his fingers together in an anxious rhythm.

_**End Confessional**_

Trey was about to yell more when the creature suddenly roared from the clearing and slunk towards them, growling. The boys tensed up as Anuok got ready to run. The animal crept closer and closer, and they soon realized it was much bigger than they thought it was, almost the size of a large rhinoceros with bad breath that smelled like rotting meat and garbage. And, to unsettle their stomachs even more, thin strips of red meat were dangling from its red stained teeth. Reese finally screamed and jumped into Trey's arms once more as a long, pointed tongue curled out of predator's mouth, licking the red stains and meat off its teeth. A piece of meat fell to the ground and Anuok picked up between two fingers, giving it a sniff before jotting something down in her notebook and handing it to Trey.

"Spaghetti? It ate spaghetti with meatballs!?" Trey cried angrily.

The creature roared and then, in the blink of an eye, disappeared.

"Someone please tell me that I'm hallucinating." Reese said with a squeak.

"Unfortunately, no." Trey said with fright as the trio grouped together, the sounds of branches and leave cracking under clawed feet filling the air; the animal had camouflaged itself so well, that it might as well not have been there. The sounds came closer and closer, packing the teens together tighter and tighter until they stopped altogether. Suddenly, Reese was ripped from Trey's grasp and thrown across the forest, landing face down in a pile of wet leaves and mud. The animal showed itself once more and pounced on him, pinning his arms to the ground with its clawed feet as it opened its jaws with a hiss. Anuok and Trey quickly attacked, punching and beating the animal with all their might, but they might as well as have been hitting an armored car; the animal didn't react.

The creature's head itched forward, its maw opening to reveal a wide throat ringed in teeth. Smelly, rotting breath breathed on Reese from its saliva stained jaws. It began sniffing him profusely while it licked him in a few places, tasting its prey before it would be devoured. Reese winced as the sound of liquid running filled the air and the creature paused. It gave a quick sniff before roaring in agony, scratching its sensitive nose with its claws as it ran in the opposite direction, Trey and Anuok holding on before they were thrown against a tree.

_**Confessional**_

"I can't believe Reese just scared an alien animal the size of a rhino with nothing more than wet shorts." Trey said with surprise. "I'm impressed."

_**Change Confessional**_

Anuok gives a thumbs up, jerking between her head and the outside with her hands before jotting something down on her notepad. She held it up to the camera, showing the words "Totally saw that coming." before smiling and throwing another thumbs up.

_**End Confessional**_

"C'mon! Move it!" Maurananei ordered. The Extreme Eagles had been running for what seemed hours at full steam, Maurananei and Zelda at the top of their game. Alan and Caroline meanwhile, were lagging behind, gasping for air as they staggered forward like a pair of zombies. Maurananei sighed with disgust and ran back to them, scooping each of them up in an arm and running back to Zelda, tossing Alan onto her back as she dashed forward with Caroline for dear life. Alan looked at Zelda sheepishly as the pink warrior reluctantly slung him onto her back. Alan lightly looped his hands around her neck and his legs around her waist as they ran forward.

"This isn't awkward, is it?" Alan asked.

Zelda smiled. "Nah. Not _too _awkward." she said before her voice became serious again. "Your hands are on my boobs." she said warningly, Alan jerking his hands back. "Sorry!"

"Just keep your hands to yourself, okay? That way I don't have to beat you senseless again." Zelda said. They had fallen behind Maurananei and Caroline, the large teen carrying the smaller girl only visible by her head. After a few moments of running in silence, they caught up to the pair who were resting by a tree. Caroline had scaled the tree and was currently acting as lookout while Maurananei took a rest. Zelda dropped to the ground and Alan climbed off, helping her to her feet as both sat on some large roots. "So, why did Chris make us wear these outfits again?" Alan asked, tugging at the collar of his shirt. "And why do they stink so much?"

Maurananei shrugged and Zelda tapped her chin, thinking. A sudden yell from Caroline caught their attention, but not before the earth began to shake beneath their feet in a steady rhythm. "What's happening!?" Maurananei cried. Whatever it was coming closer. The teens quickly climbed the tree, the ground still shaking beneath them. Puddles of water shook and rippled as the thing came closer and closer. A large figure, almost fifteen feet tall entered the clearing and sniffing the air, an animal like roar escaping its lips. It had a spiky head, with large blades on its neck and elbow, and a lizard like tail. Oddly enough, the beast seemed _human _in some ways; it was wearing a pair of torn, pink pants and a ripped pink tank top. "Is that who I think it is?" Alan gulped nervously.

"Dakotazoid." Zelda breathed as the mutated girl lumbered over to their tree, sniffing the air as she scratched at a large, red collar around her neck. The collar was ringed in spikes and had six loops where chains might be attached. She smelled faintly of smoke as she walked closer, her reptilian-like eyes watching the contestants with a hungry look. She walked closer, a curious and savage look in her eye as she scanned over the group, quickly putting aside the unattractive females that hid amongst the tree's branches. She was about to head off and look for food when something caught her eye.

A small male was clinging tightly to a branch, quietly praying her to leave. She was surprised she knew English, let alone human words. She walked closer, a sweet smelling drawing her in. It was a mixture of smelly sweat, salty potato chips, fizzy soda, and cool plastic, with just a hit of strawberry-flavored lipstick thrown in. She suddenly jerked to a stop, a sort of memory flowing back to her. An image formed in her primitive mind, of herself, cuddling with a much smaller, slightly over weight, human teen. The two were playing video games together on a squished sofa, the small human resting in her lap as they played.

"SAM!" she cried happily, reaching for the small, shivering boy with a clawed hand. The boy shrieked in fright as the large claws closed around him and easily pulled him out of the tree, drawing him closer to the monster's face. Alan was sure the monster was going to eat him when the large lips pressed against his face, and was quite surprised to find himself pinned to the side of the mutant's face as she cuddled him tightly. "Dakota happy she find you!" she cried happily, pulling him into a hug. Alan was resisting with all his might when he noticed he was pressed tightly against her large breasts. His old self quickly resurfaced and he was once more content hugging them tightly, oblivious to the strangled yells of fright and fury from the tree as Dakota hugged him tightly.

"Get your grubby claws off of him!" Zelda yelled angrily, ripping off a tree branch and chucking it at Dakota's head. The branch harmlessly hit the mutant on the head and fell to the ground, Dakota not even realizing she had been struck.

_**Confessional**_

"No matter what you people say, I am not falling for him." Zelda said smugly. "I'm just concerned what would happen if he were to suffocate."

_**Change Confessional**_

"Riiiiiiiiiii-iiiiiiight." Chris said with a chuckle.

_**End Confessional**_

"Maurananei, do something!" Zelda yelled with frustration. Maurananei looked at her with a concerned look before shrugging and jumping down from the tree. "Just get ready to run!" she yelled up to Zelda and Caroline. The two girls shared a look as they climbed down the tree and walked a couple yards away, ready to run at a moments notice. Maurananei, trying to look as ticked off as possible, walked up to Dakota, only reaching up to her waist as she jumped and grabbed hold of Alan's feet. With a quick jerk, Alan was torn free from a sad Dakota and into Maurananei's arms as she ran away with the rest of her team. Dakota roared in anger and ripped a pine tree out of the ground before chasing after them, murder in her eye as she chased after her boyfriend's captors.

* * *

><p>"I swear, Chris is asking for it." Trey said. Reese was behind him, vigorously rubbing his crotch with a wad of leaves, hoping against hope to dry himself. Anuok walked ahead of both of them, hacking her way through the heavy underbrush with her pair of daggers. "How did she manage to get on this show with those things?" Reese wondered. "Hey, Zelda made it on with over a dozen weapons, I have my guitar, and Micheal has his Animatrix. I'm pretty sure she made it without any problems." Trey said. "Seriously, someone could get on this show with an active time bomb."<p>

"It makes you wonder if Chris really cares that much for our safety. Last season he almost let the cast die before they were able to stop the island from blowing up." Reese with a nervous laugh as he scratched himself. "Why does my shirt itch so much? And why does it reek!?" he whined. "It feels like I'm wearing a sweater made of garbage layered in itching powder!"

"Ssssshhhh!" Anuok hissed, putting a finger to her lips. She held her hand up to her ear, listening once again. "Please tell me that Micheal isn't back for another round." Reese squeaked, shivering at the memory of the large, alien predator. "If it is, don't be afraid to unleash your secret weapon." Trey chided him.

"You _want _me to pee my pants again?"

"If it keeps him at bay, then yes." Trey said, unstrapping his guitar from his back and holding it like a baseball bat. Anuok sharpened her daggers together, creating a sort of slicing sound as the two blades rubbed over each other. She then pointed to Reese and then pointed upwards at a tree. "You want me to sit this one out?" Reese asked. Anuok nodded. Reese sighed and walked over to the tree, grabbing the lowest branch and heaving himself up with much difficulty. He heard a loud clanging sound below him as he scaled the tree and looked down to see a large moose battling Anuok, her daggers clashing against the animal's large antlers. The moose snorted reared up on its hind legs, kicking with its hooves. Trey rushed forward with his guitar over his head, only to be swiftly kicked in the noggin by a flailing hoof, knocking him to the ground. "Why is that moose so angry?" Reese wondered to himself as he stopped on a high branch. He then noticed the animal was wearing a red collar, but he didn't see any symbol on it. That meant that it could have only been Toni. Reese sighed with relief; unlike Micheal, Toni couldn't quickly switch between forms, which made her substantially less dangerous.

He sat back, watching the battle as Anuok leaped onto the moose's back, grabbing hold of its large antler rack and twisting it to the left. Toni obeyed, snorting and bucking like an enraged bull as she tried to kick her annoying rider off of her. With a twist of her head, Toni managed to loosen Anuok's grip and throw her to the ground. Anuok rolled to the side as the large hooves came crashing to the dirt, determined to stomp her. Toni swung her head low, hoping to at least clip Anuok with the sharp points of her antlers, but Anuok dodged out of the way just in time. "Wait a minute, how does a female moose have antlers?" Reese wondered when he was suddenly yanked out of the tree! He yelled in fright as he struggled against the strong talons that were hooked around his shoulders. A sudden memory came back to him of the first episode when he had been kidnapped by a certain orangutan. He looked up and nearly peed his pants again.

A large animal with large, leathery wings was soaring through the sky, a pair of weak looking legs with large, curved talons hooked around his shoulders, digging into his shirt. The animal had a pointed head, with a sharp beak in front a crest in the back with wide, lizard like eyes on either side of its head. Around its thin neck was a red collar with a red and silver fanged symbol on the front. Reese gasped as he realized he was seeing an animal that hadn't flown the skies of Earth in more than sixty five million years. Reese screamed as the _Pteranodon _carried him off into the night, no doubt somewhere to quietly eat him after dashing him against the rock. By now Trey had woken up from getting hit in the head to see the flying reptile soar past the moon, Reese screaming in its talons.

"Reese!" Trey cried.

* * *

><p>"Why is she so angry!?" Alan cried under Maurananei's arm. The temperamental girl was carrying Alan like a football as they all fled from Dakota's wrath. Caroline was screaming at the top of her lungs as Dakota swung her tree like a club, swinging it back and forth in wide arches only a couple feet over Caroline's head. Zelda was ahead of all of them, running as fast as her legs would carry her. Her throwing star sheaths were long since empty, having been used to attack Dakota with little affect. "Because she thinks that you're her boyfriend!" Zelda yelled back at him.<p>

"How can anything so monstrous have a boyfriend!?" Alan cried.

"Didn't you even _watch _season four!?" Zelda yelled.

"Yeah, but I missed a couple episodes! And besides, who would honestly believe that Chris mutated a teenage girl into a horrific monster!?"

"Well, he did. So shut you trap!" Maurananei yelled as they ran through a large mud puddle. The ooze sucked at her boots, one of them slipping off in the process, much to Maurananei's irritation. Caroline was wheezing, barely keeping up with the group as they ran. And to make matters worse, it suddenly began to rain, thunder rolling across the sky as lightning struck a nearby tree, blowing it to ashes. "We need to find shelter!" Maurananei yelled.

"From the storm or Dakota!?" Zelda yelled.

"Both!"

"Fair enough," said Zelda. "If memory serves, Chris once tried to build a luxury condo on here once, but never finished it."

"Yeah, because the construction crew was devoured by monster beavers!" Maurananei roared.

"Look, my point is is that there is probably some leftover structure of some sort to shelter us." Zelda said with a little annoyance in her voice. She wasn't one to tolerate sarcasm for long, and had disliked Noah from the moment he stepped onto the dock at Wawanakwa. She had been more than thrilled when he was voted out, though she was a little disappointed because the show seemed to get dumber, even if most of the campers had some common sense in one form or other.

"First we need to ditch Dakota," Zelda said. "If we could just-"

"Reese!" a heavy voice cried from nearby, followed by the sound of a large, angry animal and the clanging of some kind of blade. A smile crept across Zelda's face as a plan formed in her head.

_**Confessional**_

"Okay, so I'm exactly proud of what I did next, but it was necessary!" Zelda argued at the camera. "It was either them or us, and I liked the option of living to see another day more than making a few friends. And besides, all that running is making this shirt itch like crazy." Zelda added, scratching herself furiously. "What did Chris do, lace these with itching powder?"

_**Change Confessional**_

"Oh, she's good," Chris chuckled, holding up a can of itching powder in his hand. "Rule number one of hosting a reality show: find some small way to torture the campers during the main event."

_**End Confessional**_

"Quick! This way!" Zelda yelled, pointing towards where the voices were coming from. Ignoring a large, winged animal flying past the moon, Maurananei, with Alan in tow, and Caroline followed her, Dakota right behind them as they made a mad dash for the trees. They suddenly burst through a group of bushes to find Trey and Anuok wrestling with a ticked moose. The sad part was that the moose seemed to be winning by a long shot. "Hey, Dakota!" Zelda yelled, skidding to a stop and catching the mutant's attention as the rest of her team dove behind a bush. "Look! It's Sam!" she yelled, pointing at Trey once she was sure she had Dakota's attention. Dakota paused, dropping her tree and stomping closer to the small wrestling match. The moose took one glance up and then fled in the opposite direction, but not before kicking Trey in the kiwis with a stray hoof. Trey crumbled to the ground, clutching his sensitive spot as Dakota crouched down, sniffing him over. She took a deep sniff, almost sucking Trey's long locks into her nostril's before laughing and clapping her hands like a five year old.

"Yay! Dakota save Sam!" she cheered, scooping Trey up in her mighty fist and hugging him close. Trey was in too much pain to argue as Dakota lumbered off through the rain with him in her hand, laughing and cuddling him as she walked off to who knows where. Anuok was breathing heavily, looking back and forth between the sky and the vanishing figure of Dakota. Which team mates should she go after? Which monster should she have to battle first? A hungry _Pteranodon_, or an affectionate Dakota?

She mentally cursed and gave the Extreme Eagles an very rude gesture before running after Trey, tucking her daggers into her pockets as she ran through the trees. "Remind me not to get on your bad side." Maurananei said, clapping Zelda on a shoulder. Zelda laughed nervously and pushed the hand away. "Um, yeah. Right. Lets go find that shelter, hmm? Who knows? We might find a couple of keys there." Zelda said with a nervous laugh. Maurananei cocked an eyebrow, but shrugged it off, dropping Alan to the mud. "Agh!" he yelled, spitting out a mouthful of mud. "Ugh, I hate the outdoors!' he griped as they walked along, Zelda trailing behind them.

_**Confessional**_

"I'm evil." Zelda said with a heavy sigh. "First, I betray Micheal and build a copy of his Animatrix behind his back for Kiko, and then I sacrifice Trey to a fifteen foot monster just so my team doesn't lose! I don't know how much longer I can do this." she said.

_**Change Confessional**_

"I have never felt so violated in my life," Trey groaned. He had purple and black bruises all over his body and scratches on his face. His hair looked like it an electrified hedgehog, and his guitar was once again missing. "Sam, if you're watching this, you have my deepest respect. If you can survive Dakota, you can survive anything." he coughed as he picked a large thorn from his palm.

_**End Confessional**_

The Extreme Eagles soon came upon a sort of complex. The first floor was full constructed, with the second floor nothing more than just a skeleton of wooden beams. Neat piles of wooden planks lay all over the grounds, covered in vegetation from last season. The woods had also attacked the structure, ripping through the walls of the building and letting the elements inside. A shining glint caught Alan's eye, and he bent down to pick up the object, revealing it to be a key with a bronze eagle on it. "Hey, guys! I found a key!" he yelled.

"That means we just have to find three more and get to the safe house." Zelda noted.

"I found two more!" Maurananei cried, holding up two rusted, bronze keys with twin eagles on them. She tossed Zelda a key before heading inside the overgrown building. "Think we'll find the other one inside?" Caroline asked Zelda as they walked through the broken section of the wall where a pair of grand, oak doors lay on the floor, covered in grim and mildew. Zelda shrugged as they entered the hall. In front of them were two grand stair cases with vines draped over their railings that led up to the second floor balcony. Lightning and rain could be seen through several large holes in the roof, puddles of water forming beneath them. In between the two stair cases was a grand pipe organ, its once shining pipes and keys now covered in dust and mold. Cobs were strung up in its pipe openings, the spiders making themselves at home inside the old instrument. There was a sudden movement that caught everyone's attention, a black figure dropping down from the ceiling like a slow, oozing liquid.

"Who is that?" Caroline asked with an agitated tone.

The figure was vaguely human shape, the lack of light making it difficult to tell. Two, thin arms rose up from the figure's sides and slammed down onto the organ's keyboard, creating a loud groaning sound as air was forced through organ's pipes. The figure slammed its fingers into the keyboard again, a screeching sound from the pipes echoing through the hollow shell of the building. The figure raised its hands again and slammed them down on the keyboard a third time, a hauntingly, beautiful sound as the figure began to play a song. It seemed to have no distinct beat, no distinct rhythm. All one could do when they heard it was somehow abandon all hope of ever getting out of there alive. Their souls filled with sorrow and pain, as the figure poured everything it had into playing its haunting song on the old pipe organ. Eventually, the figure slowed its playing to a stop, giving a shudder at the low, hollow, finish.

"Run." it whispered.

"What?" Maurananei startled at the fact that both the figure could speak and seemed to be feminine. The figure whirled around, baring her teeth and hissing as her hand moved to her wrist. "RUN!" she rasped as she slapped her wrist. Everyone gasped as a bright purple flash of light washed over the figure. Long, bright red tentacles suddenly ripped out of the mysterious girl's dress, shreds of cloth falling to the ground as the writhing tentacles tore out of her back. Her hair became tentacles that dripped with slime as needle-like teeth ripped out from her gums. A large crab claw burst out of her right side, directly above her useless human arm. Her legs suddenly became giant tentacles with razor sharp hooks in their suckers and tips. The now incredibly frightening girl bellowed out a hoarse roar and lashed out with its tentacles, smashing old furniture into splinters in her mad chase after the teens.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Caroline screamed at the top of her lungs. The mutant howled in agony and lashed out with a tentacle, wrapped it around Caroline and pinning her arms to her sides before anyone could stop it. The mutant then pulled back, pulling Caroline back towards her and up to eye level, growling. Caroline was shaking like a leaf in a hurricane when she noticed something gleaming around the mutant's neck.

It was a key.

"Of course, it had to be around . . . . wait a minute, is that who I think it is?" Caroline asked. The creature growled and then screeched, throwing the poor girl across the room and through the wall to the outside. Maurananei roared and charged the large mutant, leaping over tentacles as they grasped and lunged for her. When she was close enough, she leaped into the air, drawing back a fist and punched the mutant between the eyes. The girl bellowed and grabbed Maurananei with her large claw, squeezing her like a tube of toothpaste as her legs helplessly kicked below her. The The mutant roared and through her to the ground, its tentacles snapping and cracking to grab her again. She thrust her crab forward, grabbing Maurananei again. She raised the appendage up and then slammed it into the floor, using Maurananei's skull like a batter ram of sorts to crush through the floor. Cracks began to form under the monster's tentacles until the floor gave way and it plunged into a deep darkness with Maurananei still in hand. Sounds of a scuffle could be heard below as girl and monster fought.

Maurananei was breathing hard; she had never fought something so ruthless and merciless in her life. It was as if the once human creature had never been born with a soul or conscious, only the direct instinct to kill and murder. The predator roared and slammed her into the ground once more, her skull feeling like a train had been dropped on it. The creature raised its arm again and jabbed its claw into the ground again, repeatedly before it wound up and tossed her out of the floor, slamming into the old wooden floor above. Maurananei couldn't see clearly, her vision blurry. All she could see were two swirled shapes, one pink and the other orange and blue, coming towards, grabbing hold of her arms. She was aware of being dragged off somewhere before the world became dark and she lost consciousness.

"Hurry! We need to get out of here!" Zelda urged her partner as they dragged Maurananei by the arms out of the hellish house and into the storm outside. There came a low _thud _as the monster pulled itself out of the hole and back into the room, roaring. Caroline staggered out of the hole in the wall, her head a mess as she clumsily followed her team mates out of the complex. The Eagles then ran through the storm with a thousand nightmares at their feet as the monster roared in anger, its haunting call echoing through the night air. The monster let out one last bellow before returning to stand in front of its precious organ, breathing heavily after its battle. He heaved a breath and tentatively its human hands forward, the ancient, ivory keys feeling cold and lifeless against her small fingers. With a shudder, she began to play the organ again, repeating her haunting song as the storm raged outside.

Behind her, deep in the cavern she had created, was a small, stone chest with a bronze lock. The chest of rock was ancient looking, thin cracks running along its surface. Something inside the box moved, thumping heavily against its stone prison. The lock clattered to the ground, broken. The organ playing stopped as the mutant that had once been Kiko cautiously crawled down the hole to investigate. Her souless eyes cast over the lock and ignored it, swiping it away with a tentacle and listening as it clattered back into the darkness. She then turned her attention to the hoary chest in front of her. She let her tentacles wrap around the box and draw it closer to her, it having more heft than she anticipated. She slowly moved the lid of chest open with her claw, only to see nothing but blackness. She snorted in frustration and was about to toss the box away when a red vapor began to trail upwards from the depths of the box. Kiko watched curiously. Suddenly, the vapor became more active, racing right towards her face! The mutant screeched in surprise and shielded her face, but it did nothing as the vapor slammed into her face, pouring into her mouth as he eyes turned a ghostly white.

Kiko froze stock still for a moment, her hands and claw reaching for her aching head; something was inside of her, bouncing around like a crazed pinball until she felt a sudden jolt of pain in her forehead. She stopped moving as the thing inside of her banished her consciousness into the recesses of her mind and took control. At first, her movements were jerky and uncoordinated, but they soon became fluid and deliberate as she climbed out of the hole for a second time and slithered back to her organ.

"A wonderful instrument," she said in a raspy voice that wasn't her own. "And finally, a body to play it after so many years of imprisonment." it cackled as it reached with Kiko's hands and began to play a different tune, one with hauntingly low, eerie notes as her fingers glided over the keys.

* * *

><p>"Where are we going?" Trey asked with a nervous as Dakota stomped through the storm, raining washing down her rough skin. The constant rain had drenched both of them to the bone, Trey looking like he had a mop on his head and Dakota look like she was wearing a wet porcupine. The spiky mutant pushed onwards, ignoring her hostage as she pushed aside a large pine tree, sending it to the ground and revealing a large, dark cave. Trey gulped nervously as Dakota moved towards the cave, ducking her head to enter the low mouth of the cave. Trey blinked as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. He expected to see piles of bones picked clean by the monster that was holding him, but instead all he saw was a rusty, dimly lit lantern and a large, ratty, pink blanket, big enough to possibly cover a certain mutant. Trey gulped when he saw a large teddy bear that was ripped and torn limb from limb.<p>

The musician then noticed that Dakota was moving towards the large blanket, crouching down and then lying on her side as she pulled the giant blanket up and over her. She cuddled Trey closer like a teddy bear, removing his guitar and casting it aside as her eyes drooped shut. "Night night, Sammy." she yawned as she drifted off to sleep. Trey laughed nervously and held still as Dakota's breaths became slow and labored, indicating she was falling asleep in the comfort of her supposed boyfriend. A half hour passed and Trey was vigorously sweating as he was unable to move without alerting Dakota. He had previously tried that a couple minutes ago and had nearly woken her up before she fell back asleep.

"Pssst!" Trey whipped his head around to see a small figure crouching behind the remains of the teddy bear, motioning for his attention. He looked closer and saw that it was Anuok, making her way up to Dakota's massive form. She silently slunk up to Trey and gave him a look. "Hey, don't look at me," he hissed. "It was _her _idea." he told her, gesturing with his head to Dakota. Anuok rolled her eyes and motioned for him to be quiet as she wrapped her fingers around one of Dakota's claws and pried it off of Trey. She froze as Dakota stirred in her sleep, relaxing when she went back to sleep. Anuok pried off a second finger, freezing again when Dakota moved in her sleep. Anuok sucked in a deep breath and quickly pulled the rest of the fingers off of Trey, wincing when he fell to the ground. Trey stood up as Anuok made a tiptoeing motion with her fingers, Trey nodding. The two silently made their way towards the mouth of the caving, wincing whenever Dakota moved around in her sleep. They were almost to the mouth of the cave when they heard a low growling sound. Trey turned around to see Dakota still sleeping.

He felt a tapping on his shoulder and turned to find Anuok pointing with a finger towards a small, hunched figure on the ground in front of them, between them and the mouth of the cave. The figure was small, and from the dripping sounds didn't seem to have much manners. It snarled like a feral animal, and the sound of sharp claws clicking against the stone floor echoed through the cavern.

"Ezekiel?" Trey breathed when he realized who it was. Indeed, it was the freaky prairie boy, back and more freaky than ever. The little mutant was sidling up to Anuok, sniffing her curious with a lustful look on his face. Trey suddenly realized what was going on; he was wearing one of Sam's shirts, explaining the reason why Dakota came after him, and Anuok was wearing one of Anne Maria's tank tops, which would explain why Ezekiel was currently trying to smooch Anuok. With a disgusted look on her face, the silent girl sucker punched him in the face and made a break for it. Ezekiel howled in anger, the sound echoing through the cave, and waking up Dakota.

"Sam? No! Come back, Sam!" she cried as she jumped to her feet and charged after the pair with Ezekiel right beside her.

"Why does this keep happening to us!?" Trey cried as they ran along through the woods. They ran through stands of pine trees and oaks, crashing through the undergrowth with about as much delicacy as a herd of stampeding elephants. They splashed through creeks and rivers, scaling hills and valleys as the two mutants followed closely behind them. "This seems so much longer than how we got here! Trey cried as rounded a steep cliff that overlooked a pit of razor sharp thorns. Anuok pulled out her notebook and scribbled something on it and passed to Trey. "What do you mean it always leads up to a good wipe out!?" Trey asked just as he tripped over a log and fell down the side of the cliff, plummeting into the thorn patches below. Anuok stopped to watch as Trey crashed through brambles and thorns, hit his head on a rock, and was then attacked by a large group of scorpions, all before landing in the thorn patch below. Anuok silently laughed and made her way down the cliff side as the thunderous footsteps of Dakota and Ezekiel passed overhead. Anuok made a _much _safer way down to the ground as Trey groaned and picked himself up.

"Lets never do that again," Trey moaned. Anuok kindly began removing the many thorns and barbs that were embedded deep in his back and hands. "On the bright side, I found this." he added, grabbing something on the ground and handing it to Anuok. She took in her hands and held it up to the moon to see better, the image of an indigo rhinoceros shining in the moonlight.

It was a key.

Anuok pumped her fist as trey plucked the final infliction from his leg with stifled yelp. The two then carefully crept through the maze of thorns and found their way to the coastline. Anuok scribbled something down on her notepad and handed it to trey to read. "Are you sure that's safe?" he asked after reading it. Anuok paused and closed her eyes, putting her fingers on her temples. She stayed that way for a couple minutes, oblivious to the outside world as Trey jumped and flinched at every noise. Anuok's eyes then opened and she nodded vigorously. "I guess we have to do it then." Trey said, and continued down the beach. Anuok's plan was to walk the shoreline, there by avoiding their hypnotized team mates and the other horrors Chris had let loose on the island while safely making their way to the safe houses on the other side of the island.

Anuok however, had only let Trey in on the majority of the plan; the full plan also involved rescuing Reese from the _Pteranodon_. Not only did she see the flying reptile heading towards the coast, but her basic knowledge of animals, even extinct ones, reasoned that it would need to be near a body of water should it want to conserve energy when hunting. And being a beast of air, it would most likely make its layer up on a cliff ledge. She kept this information to herself, fearful that Trey would flee when presented with the idea. The duo made their along the beach, the constant lapping of the waves washing their footprints in the easing rain. The pair eventually came to a steep cliff, at which the base of were stray fish bones among them scraps of a shirt. Anuok stopped Trey and pointed up towards the cliff.

Trey, had not seen the warning signs. He nodded and walked up to the base of the cliff, finding that it had several small ledges, just big enough for his hands and feet to cling on. Anuok was next to him, easily scaling the cliff side with the skill of a mountain goat. They soon came to a large ledge, almost as big as one of the previous cabins from the first season. Anuok made it up onto the ledge first, Trey straggling behind. She saw a large bowl shaped nest made up of torn tree branches with the laves still on them. Among them were drift wood planks and scraps of metal easily twisted to fasten the nest together. Hundreds of fish bones and the carcasses of sea creatures littered the ledge, the occasional corpse of an unfortunate rabbit, bird, or small deer catching Anuok's eye as she quietly slunk forward. Behind her, Trey was making his way up the cliff rather nosily, but she didn't care.

"Finally!" Trey wheezed as he scrambled onto the ledge, gasping for breath. He collapsed on the edge of the ledge breathing hard when his hand suddenly brushed up against something spiky. And sharp. He looked over to see a lone fish bone. And then another. And another. And more. Piles of them, stacked into neat little heaps around an even bigger pile of wood. Trey quickly sat up and saw Anuok quietly creeping amongst the piles of bone, motioning for him to follow. Trey gritted his teeth and slightly followed her, fine spines and skulls crunching softly under his feet. They quietly approached the large nest to find Reese cowering in the middle of the nest, his bare arms wrapped tightly around his legs as he rocked back and forth. Anuok gave shrill whistle, Reese yelping in surprise until he realized who it was. "Anuok? Trey!"Reese cried happily, tackling the both of them in hug. "Oh, thank goodness you found me! I thought he was going to eat me!" he practically blubbered. Trey looked at the bare chested boy clinging to him tightly. "What do you mean by 'he'?" he asked with slight fear.

**BOOM!**

The small band of teens jumped and whirled around to see themselves suddenly covered in a thick fog that must have rolled in but a few moments ago. It were as if some unseen force were cutting off the odds one by one with a pair of gigantic scissors. The sound of giant claws scraping against the stone echoed through the still night as a large creature stalked closer and closer. A crunching sound filled the air when the creature walked over hundreds of fish carcasses, the only glimpse of it through the fog being when it swiped aside the large carcass of a shark with large, pointed appendage. The creature stopped closer and closer until it was right on top of them. It rose up on its small, hind legs and swung it arms out wide, pushing the fog aside to reveal itself.

"SCCREEEEEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWW!" the gigantic _Pteranodon _screeched angrily before driving its beak forward. Trey and Reese screamed before being pushed aside by an unseen force, the sickening sound of flesh hitting rock filling the air. A hoarse screamed filled the air as the _Pteranodon _roared. Trey and Reese looked up from the ground to see the gigantic flying reptile repeatedly jabbed its beak downward, trying to pin Anuok as she through fish remains as him. An acrid smell filled the air, as something other than water dripped to the ground. The pterosaur had managed to strike Anuok in the shoulder, blood dripping to the ground as she rolled and dodged the attacks. Trey growled and jumped forward, pushing Anuok out of the way before the _Pteranodon _could swipe at her with a large wing. He then turned around and mimed playing his guitar, letting out an unearthly howl at the large creature. It roared in agony, scrabbling its claws to run away, tumbling over the side of the cliff before it flapped its wings to power it through the air and back, heading towards the forest. Trey's breaths were labored as he panted and pulled Anuok to her feet, the poisonous smell of sweat and blood in the air as Reese joined them.

"Come on, we gotta move." Reese urged them, pulling a suddenly exhausted Anuok towards the forest with Trey right behind, stooping down to pick up a large branch for a weapon.

* * *

><p>"Ooooooooh." Maurananei moaned, rubbing her sore skull. She looked around to see Zelda, Alan, and Caroline sitting around a small campfire that cast the smallest amount of light possible. "That was some monster," Alan noted with a heavy sigh. "Seriously, it threw you around like a rag doll, Maura." Maurananei for once, had to agree with him on that one. She was surprised her head had been able to withstand all that the beast had thrown at her. She moaned again and attempted to stand on her shaky legs, striking her head against something and slumping to the ground again. "Wa I hit?" she said groggily. Caroline walked closer and reached over her head, removing something from above her and then dangling it front of her. It was another key with a bronze eagle on it. "Yay," Maurananei moaned before the world turned black again.<p>

Caroline winced and slowly walked away from the unconscious girl, afraid she might hurt her more. "Should we head to the safe house?" she asked Zelda, who was the closest thing to a leader they had at the moment. Zelda was about to answer when a louder sound filled the air.

"NEE-AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH-HAHAHAHAHAH!" a shrill, high pitched laugh cried. A black figure rushed behind a tree, Zelda only able to catch a glimpse of a black cloak. Another figure dashed behind a tree, this time she saw green. The figures continued to stalk them, jumping and rushing behind trees with the stealth of ninjas, scaling the trees with ease and disappearing without a trace only to reappear somewhere else. Alan whimpered and hid behind Zelda, Caroline quickly joining them as she dragged Maurananei's body with her. "Greetings, _spider food_." a feminine girl rasped before stepping into the clearing. The team gave a collective gasp as the fire lit up a red headed girl's face attached to the body of a large spider. The girl had a wicked smile on her lips and an insane look in her eyes as she slowly stalked around the small band of teens like shark, inching closer and closer. A rustling of leaves came to their left, and a small, black, hooded figure stepped out of the darkness, holding a giant scythe in its hand. The figure stepped softly across the clearing, not making a sound despite the many leaves and branches on the ground.

"I have come for you." it rasped, pointing its scythe at the group.

"IT'S THE GRIM REAPER!" Alan screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Wrong, meatling!" the spider girl cried. "It's Izzy the Spider and her good friend Mortisha the Soul Collecter!"

"That's even worse!" Alan screamed even louder, bolting off towards the woods and then smacking against something hard, falling to the ground, rubbing his sore skull. He looked up to see none other than Dakota staring down at him. Alan flinched, expecting to be cuddled and hugged tightly once more. When said hugging and cuddling didn't come, he cracked an eye open to see something far worse; Dakota hunched over him with the stature of a hungry _Tyrannosaurus Rex_, an excess amount of saliva dripping from her jaws as she bared her teeth and growled. Her claws wear extended to their full length instead of their shorter, safer dimension. Most noticeable of all was the far smaller being perched on her shoulder like a parrot, a fair amount of saliva dripping from his jaws. Ezekiel growled and inched his head closer as Dakota neared Alan, both of their eyes glowing an ominous, soulless, red.

"Dakota, smash!" she hissed as she raised her arm above her head, a large branch in her claws. She swung it down, smashing it to the ground as Alan rolled out of the way just in time. Alan yelled and ran back to Zelda, hiding behind her like the coward he was. Dakota, with Zeke on her shoulder lumbered into the clearing, the small amount of light from the campfire making her look more terrifying. Without another word, she grabbed both Izzy and Mortisha in her large fists and carrying them off into the forest, ignoring the Extreme Eagles all together. "Um, that was weird." Caroline managed to say.

* * *

><p>"Ooh, where we going Freaky Dinosaur Girl?" Izzy asked excitedly. Dakota merely growled as Ezekiel hissed at her. "Uh, I don't understand that, but okay!" Izzy said happily. Mortisha remained silent, but a happy smile could be seen on her face when Dakota's claws dug into her skin. The mutants remained silent as they lumbered through the woods toward a broken complex with a skeletal second floor. Dakota approached the building, ducking lower under a large hole in the wall with Izzy and Mortisha in hand. The mutant girl stalked around a large hole in the wooden floor and stopped between two grand staircases that stood juxtapose to an old, grand pipe organ. At the organ was Kiko, having taken a break from playing the instrument.<p>

"You have completed the task?" she asked in raspy voice that didn't belong to her.

"Yessssssssssss." Dakota growled, bowing low to the ground, Ezekiel snarling as the huge Goliath deposited both Izzy and Mortisha at Kiko's tentacles.

"Excellent." Kiko said, turning around to gaze upon the two girls. "Interesting. Though none of them inherently posses power, they are both incredibly dangerous," she mused.

"Ya got that right!" Izzy cried with a wide grin. Mortisha grinned and gazed up at Kiko, studying her. "Nice look, Kiko. You must give me the number of your stylist." she joked as tentacles slowly wrapped around her's and Izzy's waists. Kiko lifted them up to eye level, a low growl escaping her lips.

"Ooh! Are we gonna make out now!?" Izzy asked wildly.

"Something like that." Kiko hissed as two thin trails of red vapor ran over her lips, twirled through the air before entering Izzy and Mortisha's mouths. For a few seconds they resisted, their heads twitching and their eyes turning dark red as their minds (what was left of them anyway) were banished to the back of their minds. Kiko gently set them on the ground, where both of them bowed before her, Izzy bowing her head low to the ground as she balanced on her spider legs. "You have your orders." Kiko hissed as she wrapped her tentacles around her new minion's necks and tore off the red collars.

"Bring the others to master." Mortisha growled.

"And the non-powered ones?" Izzy asked in her own voice, which was creepy enough as it was.

Kiko mused for a bit before answering. "Extra crispy." she said with an evil laugh.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Reese?" Trey asked after they had run for a while. They were now what felt to be the island's center, just behind the isle's infamous skull-shaped cliff.<p>

"What?" Reese wheezed, leaning against a tree for support. Anuok, collapsed on a rock, wincing when her wounded shoulder struck the stone. Trey gathered some leaves and made sure they were safe before stuffing them gently into the wound before grabbing some vines and wrapping them tightly around her arm, just above the wound so that it could properly close. Anuok gave Trey an appreciative look before lying down and closing her eyes, letting herself rest for a few minutes. Before she knew it, she was fast asleep, exhausted from the night's efforts. "Did you by chance find a key?" Trey asked, leaning against Anuok's rock. "Actually, yes." Reese said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small key with an indigo colored rhino on it. Trey gave a thumbs and gestured for Reese to rest. The small boy fell to the ground, wincing when he felt pine needles and rocks cut into his bare chest. Trey sighed and lay back; his muscles were sore, and he was feeling unpleasant everywhere. All they had been doing was running all night, with little sleep or rest as savage monsters that seemed to get more dangerous as the night went on, hunted them down. Trey's mind however, was elsewhere at the moment, returning to the recurring dream that had plagued his mind for several nights ever since the Pirate Challenge.

It was always the same, same mysterious and creepy setting, same cryptic and mysterious, yet oddly beautiful, girl that called him a name that only he knew about. And she always said the same thing, that she loved him. As if anyone could love a freak like him. _Although_, he thought to himself. _I guess I'm the most normal one of the freaks here_. _I mean, both Toni and Micheal can change their forms, Kiko can read minds, Anuok sees into the future, Caroline talks to animals, and Mitchell cancontrol fire. _"Speaking of which, where is Mitchell?" he wondered. As if to answer his thoughts, the ground to his right exploded into flame. Red, hot, sizzling flame. Trey jumped back as Mitchell, covered in his layer of molten lava and rocks came walking towards, hand put out before him as fire jumped forth to ignite the ground in front of him, creating a literal ring of fire.

"Guys, wake up!" Trey yelled, tripping over Reese as he stumbled back to avoid the flames. Reese yelped and jumped up, his head striking Trey right in his jewels. The rock star crumbled to the ground as Reese screamed at the top of his lungs. Mitchell yelled in agony, covering his hands with his ears. "Reese! Keep screaming!" Trey gasped from the ground, just as Anuok was waking up. The girl opened her eyes, took one look at the situation, and sped off into the woods.

"Great. Just great." Trey said to himself. "Well, on the bright side, at least we're not the only scardy cats." He was soon proven wrong when Anuok came running back through the underbrush, her cheeks puffed up to their max capacity. She sucked in a breath through her nose and sat out the contents of her mouth, a jet of water aimed right at Mitchell. The water hit Mitchell full in the face, dowsing the fire from his body as the magma rocks disappeared. "Not cool, man!" Mithcell yelled, angrily shaing his fist. Around his neck was another red collar, which thoroughly confused Anuok and Reese (Trey was in too much pain to even look up). The Rhinos turned to leave, when the earth gave a sudden shake. It kept shaking as something stomped through the trees towards, the sound of something pattering against the leaves accompanying the sound. "Why us? I mean seriously, what did we ever do to deserve this!?" Reese panicked, hiding behind Anuok, who had her daggers drawn. If it was what she thought it was, she could at least defend Reese while he made an escape. At the best, she hoped to escape with him, but the aspect of that happening was getting very small as the thing got closer and closer.

A growling sound came from behind them, and Reese turned to see a large man walking towards them at a leisurely pace. The man was very big, and muscled. He had pale white skin and had a mop of black, stringy hair on his head. His face was hidden behind a bone white hockey mask, and he wore a black apron with mysterious brown stains down the front. He had one large hand gripped around the handle of a hockey stick, a running chainsaw tied around the flat end. On the other man's hand, was a large hook that gleamed in the moonlight that edged closer.

"IT'S THE ESCAPED PSYCHO-KILLER WITH A CHAINSAW AND A HOOK!" Reese screamed like a girl. "Why Chris, WHY!?"

* * *

><p>Elsewhere, back on the safety that was Pahkitew Island, Chris sat at a large computer counsel, studying the footage that rushed past his eyes on twenty different screens. He was slowly chuckling to himself as he saw all the hilarious (at least according to him) events pass in front of him. He especially loved the part where Trey nearly became Dakota's boy toy. However, the host was also slightly worried; on each of the hypnotized teens, he had placed red tracking collars, so he could track his puppets movements. It had been a great system at first, but as the night went on, one by one the red tracking dots on his screen blinked out until there were only a few left. He had also placed tracking devices inside the extra shirts of Sam and Anne Maria to keep track of the contestants. For the most part, they had been successful, until Reese was snatched away by a hungry <em>Pteranodon<em>. After a couple minutes, his tracking tag went out. Chris ignored it, but it was still there in the back of his mind as he watched the screens.

"Hot cocoa?" Chef's deep voice came from behind him. The host gladly took the mug and was joined by the muscled cook as they watched the screens. Namely, the big one right in front of them that showed the Rampaging Rhinos surrounded by an extinguished Mitchell and a very large man. "Dude, when did you hire an actor?" Chris asked his co-host. Chef took a look at the screen, and his face turned white, an impressive talent for someone with his skin. "I didn'. Did you?" he asked nervously.

Chris shook his head as the figure then stepped into the light. The two hosts instantly recognized him, but Reese's terrified screams told them exactly who the identity of the mystery man was before their small, evil brains could process it.

IT'S THE ESCAPED PSYCHO-KILLER WITH A CHAINSAW AND A HOOK!" Reese screamed.

* * *

><p>With a very ticked off Mitchell to their right, a psycho-killer behind them, and an unknown monster heading their way, the Extreme Eagles expressed their thoughts as any sane person would: they screamed. Reese cried like a baby, jumping onto Anuok's back and holding tight as Trey crawled around her legs, still in too much pain to stand correctly. Anuok, silent as usual, was watching the whole event as the three predators crept closer and closer, too frightened to even scream.<p>

The psycho-killer was the first to attack. With a loud growl that was hard to hear behind his hockey mask, the muscled man rushed forward, sharpened hook raised in the air and chainsaw swinging. The murderer was nearly upon the cowering teens when Dakota suddenly came crashing out of the forest, roaring like an animal as Ezekiel hung onto her shoulder. The little freak opened his jagged maw and spat out a jet of acid, striking the man in the face. He went down screaming in torment as Dakota leapt upon him with the ferocity of a starving wolf. The giant mutant, psycho-killer, and Ezekiel fought on the ground for a few brief moments before Dakota roared and thrust her head down.

The sickening sound of bone being crushed cut through the night like a knife, and the psycho-killer's screams immediately died. The snarling sounds of Dakota and Ezekiel could be heard as they remained hunched over the man, ignoring the terrified teens who watched with horror in their eyes. They jerked their heads to the right just in time to see a struggling Mitchell being pulled off into the bush by a hooded figure with a scythe in hand and a red headed girl with a spider body attached to her human head. Mitchell's strangled yelling soon stopped after they vanished into the dark forest. The Eagles then turned to glance at Dakota and Ezekiel, and Reese was sure that he wasn't the only one who wet his pants when he saw the scene before them.

Dakota was standing to face them, crouched low in a primal stance as red colored saliva dripped from her teeth. Ezekiel had switched shoulders, sitting on her left shoulder instead of her right; strands of something red hanging from his yellow stained teeth. In Dakota's massive hand was the psycho-killer's chainsaw, still hot and running. She showed little sign of being effected by the attack from the weapon in the first place, only a few messy stripes on her arms and leg that oozed forth dark red blood. Her eyes were wild and feral, staring at the group of teens hungrily as Ezekiel snarled at them. She suddenly began coughing and hacking at something caught in her throat before spitting it out at the teen's feet, resuming her frightening stance as the Rhinos gaped at the object in front of them.

It was a blood stained hook.

With an almighty scream, the Rhinos dashed into the forest, not caring where they went as long as it was far away from Dakota and Ezekiel. With a loud bellow, Dakota revved up her new weapon and gave chase, slashing at the trees wildly without concern or care.

* * *

><p>Back HQ, Chris and Chef were having an all out panic attack. The host was screaming and running around the room as Chef sat in the center, rocking back and forth on his heels as the live feed of Dakota and Ezekiel chasing the Rhinos with an active chainsaw and bloodstained lips played on the large screen. "She freakin' ate him! What do we do!? What do we do!? What do we do!?" Chris yelled, breaking down on his knees and crying to the heavens. "Haven't you tried, I dunno, <em>unhypnotizing <em>them or something? Chef asked.

"You think I haven't!?" Chris yelled, grabbing at his hair and nearly tearing it out.

"You mean to tell me that our entire cast is stuck on a haunted island with savage freaks hunting them down!?" Chef yelled.

"Pretty much." Chris squeaked. "On the bright side, we don't have to worry about the psycho-killer with a chainsaw and a hook anymore."

"Yeah, because CRAZY MONSTER GIRL ATE HIM!" Chef roared. Chris closed his eyes and sucked in a breath, trying to calm his frayed nerves. No one knew how hard it was hosting a reality show; sometimes the food wasn't gross enough, or the contestants whined and complained too much. Then there was the occasional where the cast rebelled and made his life more miserable than it was. This however, was something totally alien to him. Never, in his entire career as a TV host had someone eaten someone else on international TV. Soon, the phones would be ringing off the hooks, angry emails would clog his computer like cholesterol in blood veins, the RCMP would be all over his butt about broadcasting the episode.

"Pack your bags 'Hector'," Chris said, putting the fake name in air quotes as he spoke to his oversized cook. "We're leaving for Mexico!"

* * *

><p>"We got all the keys?" Maurananei asked as she and her team walked through the dark forest. The wind hollowed and rustled through the tree's branches, making a loud <em>shush shush <em>sound as they rattled against each other. The occasional owl or crow would interrupt the constant shushing of the leaves, often flying directly over the camper's heads and freaking them out. A cloud of bats would fly past the moon every now and then, always frightening Caroline for a split second before she realized what they were. They soon came across the ancient remains of Chris's summer home, still old and disgusting as ever; they quickly decided to skirt around it, giving it a wide berth.

"Yep. Keys one through four, which means we'll all get safe entry to the safe houses." Zelda said as she pushed aside a branch with the others trailing behind her. Alan brought up the back of the group of girls, constantly jumping fear at every sound. He felt as if the forest had eyes that were hungrily watching him, waiting until he was alone before attacking and quickly devouring him, ending his life. That very thought ran through his mind when something large and heavy slammed into his side, knocking him to the ground as his senses were swamped with loud breathing and breath that smelled like rotten meat. Alan stared up to see himself pinned to the ground by a large animal. It was very muscled and had a box shaped head with a large mane of fur around its neck. Claws that felt like red hot knives in his skin were dug into his collar bone as the animal lowered its head to Alan's head, growling as a set of sharp teeth could be seen under its lips.

"Um, guys?" Alan squeaked. "What pray tell is on top of me?" he asked, not daring to speak any louder in fear of provoking the predator to attack. He slowly rolled his head to the side, to see . . . . . nobody. "Guys?" Alan asked nervously as the animal leaned in closer, a large, raspy tongue curving over the bottom set of teeth and licking Alan's cheek. Alan whimpered as his eyes traced over every detail of the carnivore's face; everything from the animal's golden colored eyes with piercing black iris's to the golden colored fur and shaggy, brown mane. His mind ran through every animal he had seen or encountered, and soon came to the conclusion it was none other than a lion, King of the Jungle himself. And, to make matters worse, Alan's finger lightly brush up against something that felt distinctively like the face of a watch on a thick, collar. Alan's life began to flash before his eyes as the lion rose up, raising a one paw with the claws extended while keeping the other in Alan's shoulder. The lion roared swung its paw, preparing to swipe Alan's head clean off when something crashed into the lion's side, tearing it away from Alan and smacking it against a tree. Alan sighed with relief, only to scream in terror as Mitchell appeared over him, immersed in flames and lava, his cold, red eyes focused on Alan.

"HELP!" Alan screamed. Help did seem to come when Mitchell was tackled from the side and out of Alan's sight. He sighed with relief again, only scream in terror again when a hyena with saliva stained jaws came into his field of vision, snapping its foamed stained jaws at Alan's face.

_**Confessional**_

"How was I supposed to know freaky-animal-teens could get rabies?" Chris argued at the camera, trying to look as innocent as possible.

_**End Confessional**_

Whimpering, Alan scrambled backwards on his hands and feet, scooting back as the three assailants stalked closer; the lion, the hyena, and the pyromaniac. The animals edged closer off to the sides, snarling and opening and closing their jaws as Mitchell came right up the middle, his hands lit up with hot coals. The trio edged forward, though Alan was not sure why; he didn't have any super powers to begin with. _Except my super good looks, _he thought as some of the hyena's saliva plopped onto his shirt. His life began to flash before his eyes. The down side to it, was that it was like watching a second rate movie you've seen three times. Just when it seemed Alan's life would once again get a bad review, the Rampaging Rhinos came running from stage left, colliding with the lion, hyena, and Mitchell and crashing into a huge heap. The ground shook and thunder, and Alan squeaked, diving behind a tree just as Dakota with her chainsaw came stomping through the clearing, stopping at the pile of dazed teens and monsters as Ezekiel jumped down from her shoulder, grabbing a groggy Mitchell before jumping back onto his giant mount. Dakota set down her chainsaw and grabbed one of the large carnivores in each of her giant hands, throwing the stunned lion over her other shoulder and picking up her new weapon. She then left the Rhinos and stomped off into the woods at a steady trot, leaving Alan confused.

Why were the monsters _collecting _the other monsters instead of chasing the contestants? What was Chris up to? After all, Alan didn't believe in some stupid ghost story. Surely, Chris had just hypnotized them to run rampant all over the island and terrorize the day lights out of them until dawn arrived. Sucking in a deep breath, Alan pushed the thought to the side and ran out from behind the tree, past the Rhinos and down the barely visible trail after his team. After many twists and turns, he found them, peacefully walking along as if they hadn't even noticed he was gone. Without another word, he fell into line behind Zelda.

"So, how'd you do back there?" she suddenly asked.

"What do you mean?"

"As if I wouldn't notice you being attacked by a _Panthera leo_," Zelda answered with mock hurt in her voice. "Anything interesting I should know about?"

"I saw my life flash before my eyes." Alan replied.

"How was it?"

"_Fabulous!_" Alan said with flare. "Oh, and Dakota and Ezekiel are rounding up the rest of the other contestants for some odd reason."

"Really?"

"And that doesn't concern you?" Alan asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Not at the moment." Zelda said, picking up her pace. "Now hurry up. We're not that far from the safe houses."

* * *

><p>"Is she gone?" Reese moaned, as he crawled to his knees. The small boy was slathered in mud from head to toe, the heavy rain having turned the ground to ooze. His team mates were also covered in the stuff, Anuok having some in her hair and Trey even spitting out a large mouthful. With staggered breathes, the musician climbed to his feet, propping up against a tree. He suddenly stopped panting and inspected the tree he had been leaning against, wiping a bit of the mud and bark from the tree to reveal a dull key with an indigo rhino on it. They had found a second key. Trey pumped his fist and showed it to the others. With exhaustion rearing its ugly head once more, they pushed on through the woods, trying to shake off as much mud and slime as they could. Reese had begun to shiver as a cool breeze swept through the woods; when the <em>Pteranodon <em>had grabbed him, it had torn both of his shirts clean off, leaving his exposed skin to the elements. And that he was coated in cold mud, he wasn't sure if he would survive the night with the threat of hypothermia a very good possibility. He tried to ignore this prospect as his team wound their way along an unseen trail, traveling through more dark forest and threatening looking cliffs. Eventually, they had stepped into a clearing with a large complex in the center. Anuok remembered from season 5 how Chris had been trying to building a summer cabin on Bony Island. It had seemed like a good idea at the time to him, but his construction crew was soon devoured by Woolly Beavers. That, along with Lindsay's kidnapping by Sasquatchanakwa, quickly killed the project. Anuok assumed this was the remains of the building.

She was soon proven correct when they came across an aging sign that said "Future Estate of the Fabulous Chris McLean" that was staked into the ground in front of a an old bulldozer that was half sunk into the wet ground. Anuok deduced that Chris would most likely hide one of the keys in a place that was related to him, and the possibility of something of value not being in there was pretty low. And if they found something to shelter Reese from the cold, that was a bonus too. She motioned for the boys to follow her into the building through a large, gaping hole where the front door would have been. The building was dark and smelled of mold and mildew. There were several large holes in the ceiling that gave them glimpses of the skeletal second floor. The Rhino tip toed through the darkness, their silent footsteps creaking against the aged floorboards.

"Ahhh, guests," a raspy voice whispered loudly. The teens froze on the spot, their eyes searching for the sound of the voice. A dim light suddenly came from their left and they turned to see an old lantern shining in the darkness like a beacon. Like moths to a light, the teens quickly ran over to it, its warm glow keeping the shadows at bay. A slithering sound filled the air as something dripped onto the floor. Things in the shadows began to move, silently stalking the teens as they growled and hissed to each other in deep tones that the frightened contestants barely heard. Reese gave a shrill scream as something became visible in the light; what had once been a girl, and now a mutated creature of unimaginable power. Her legs had been replaced by slimy tentacles, a single large crab claw bursting forth from her shoulder as her two, weak human arms hung limply at her sides. Her hair had been replaced by writhing tentacles as well, and a cage of nasty looking teeth lined her jaws as her eyes glowed a deep red. "Welcome one and all, ladies and gentlemen," the girl rasped, as if talking to an invisible audience. "Please give a warm welcome to the Rampaging Rhinos . . . . _in their final appearance._" the girl chuckled. Anuok quickly identified the monster as Kiko, though she instantly knew it wasn't Kiko talking.

Kiko, still cackling evilly, raising her claw and hands to the ceiling as huge monsters of frightening familiarity stepped out of the shadows; there was Dakota with bloodstained lips and running chainsaw, Ezekiel perched on her shoulder as he chuckled deeply to himself; the thought of the teens between his teeth gave him some satisfaction. More monsters stepped out of the darkness, their faces being dimly lighten by the lanterns light; Mitchell stepped forward, a deep angry expression on his face as lava rocks raced up and down his body. Izzy in her spider costume and Mortisha with her scythe dropped down from the ceiling, Izzy rubbing her jointed legs together manically as Mortisha's smug grin could be seen under her black cloak. The large, lizard-like animal the Rhinos had encountered before suddenly appeared behind them, saliva dripping from its exposed gums and fangs like a waterfall. Trey quickly assumed this to be Micheal, but was proven wrong when a large Nisilaha stepped out from the shadows to their right, cracking all four of his oversized knuckles. Reese gulped as he imagined his skull between those hands being ground to dust with just a twitch of those large muscles.

"W-w-what do you w-want f-from us?" Reese stammered, barely keeping it together as the monsters edged closer and closer. Anuok quickly drew her daggers and Trey reached for his guitar, only to realize it wasn't there. "What do we want from you?" Kiko hissed. "Why, we you in our bellies, of course!" she roared, lunging forward. Anuok quickly jumped out of the way, bringing her daggers down as she jumped up, cutting off several tentacles from her head. Trey dived out of the way of the giant snapping claw and gave a swift kick to her human arm. Reese simply ran in the opposite direction, screaming as he smashed clear through the wall. "Come on, Anuok!" Trey yelled, motioning towards the Reese shaped hole in the wall before running through it. Anuok was about to follow him when a glint caught her eye. She turned to see a key on a string around Kiko's neck. Anuok sighed heavily and threw herself at the monster, stunning it as she rammed her own into its skull and tearing away the key from her neck. With one last swipe of her daggers that left a red X across Kiko's chest, Anuok dashed out of the hole after her tea mates.

"After them!" Kiko roared, giving chase after her escaping prey as her minions crashed through the wall. Moments after they left, the entire building came crashing down into a sorry, wet mess. The Rhinos ran through the woods with the hypnotized, super powered teens right behind them. With wet leaves slapping at their faces and branches smacking their heads, the Rhinos dashed through the woods, sliding down gullies and valleys, scaling hills and mountains, crossing rivers and creeks, with the monsters still on their tails. They were at a crossroads of deer trails when the Rhinos crashed into the Eagles, resulting in a large pile of moaning and groaning bodies. "What's your problem!?" Maurananei spat, picking twigs and leaves from from her hair as Reese spat out an unfortunate walking stick. Trey coughed out a wad of pine needles, helping Zelda to her feet as the pink girl cleaned her glasses.

"B-big! Monsters! Coming for us!" Reese stammered until Maurananei slapped him across the face and grabbing hold of his lips.

"Now I;m going to let go of yours lips. And when I do, you're going to tell what you need to me . . . _in full sentences_." she told the small boy with a menacing glare. Reese slowly nodded, and Maurananei released her grip.

"We're being chased by the other contestants," he began slowly. "They're under some sort of spell, and Chris isn't in charge." Reese said with a wavering tone. Without a hint of their approach, said contestants ripped through a strand of nearby trees, their hunger and anger radiating off them in waves as they approached the contestants, a ravenous look in their eyes. "How do you say 'run' in Japanese?" Caroline asked Zelda.

"I'm pretty sure that's universal," said Trey. "_RUN!_"

Without hesitation, the teams put aside their rivalry and ran as one through the woods, screaming like heck as the monsters that were formally their team mates and veterans gave chase. Zelda was breathing hard as she ran next to Reese and Caroline when she noticed the watch face on the forehead of the mutant that had once been Kiko. _Does she ever listen to me!? _the thought screamed in her head. She quickly put the thought aside as a jet of acid shot over her head and hit the trunk of a tree in front of her, quickly dissolving it. With a yelp, she dove to the side, pushing Caroline out of the way as the tree came crashing down between her and Reese. They didn't stop to gawk about it and quickly dashed after their teams, the monsters at their heels.

"There!" Alan yelled, pointing towards their right where two large trailers sat. Their large, steel sides shining in the moonlight. A weak looking black webbing stretched between the ends of the trailers that were closest to each other so that one could travel from one trailer to the other without leaving the vehicles. For Alan, the trailers looked a little too familiar, as if he had seen it in a movie somewhere. The others however, rushed right to the trailers without hesitation, the Eagles running to the left trailer with an eagle on the door, the Rhinos running to the one with a rhino on it. The Eagles quickly slipped all four of their keys into the four locks on the door and yanked open the trailer door, closing it behind them and locking it. The Rhinos, missing two keys ran over to their trailer and slipped two keys into two of locks, watching both of them fall to the grass below. "Now what?" Trey whimpered as the sound of the monsters got closer.

"Hang on, I think I might be able to pick these locks," said Reese, stepping forward and peering at the locks. He examined them for a bit before coming to a conclusion. "Yep, these are definitely locks." he stated. "And pretty simple ones at that. I just need a hair pin." he said. Anuok quickly handed him one from her hair. "You guys are gonna have to distract the monsters though." he said as he jammed the hair pin into the lock and twisting it. "How on earth are we supposed to do that? I don't have my guitar, and Anuok's daggers won't hold them off forever!" Trey exclaimed. Anuok thought it over for a moment before noticing an abandoned jeep parked at the edge of the clearing. Chris must have left it there after towing the trailers, and Anuok quickly took opportunity of this, grabbing Trey's arm and dragging him to the vehicle. She rapidly open the driver and passenger doors, climbing into the drivers side as Trey took the passenger and closed his door. "So nice of Chris to leave the keys." Trey chuckled. Anuok grabbed them and put them into the ignition, turning them and pleased to hear the low thrum of the engine. The small army of monsters suddenly crashed through the thick undergrowth and set their sights on the humming jeep, thankfully ignoring the silent Reese as he did his work.

Anuok slammed her foot on the gas pedal, expecting to race off across the island and lead the monsters away from the trailers. Unfortunately, the motor died before she could even get out of the clearing, a cloud of smoke coming out from under the hood. Anuok sighed and rested her head against the steering wheel in defeat.

_**Confessional**_

"Leave it to Chris to forget to put gas in a car." Trey growled.

_**Change Confessional**_

Anuok was furiously scribbling something on her notepad, a thin trail of smoke coming from her pencil as she wrote heavily on the paper before turning it to face the camera. Unfortunately, what she had written was so bad it had to be censored, the only visible words being 'vultures' and 'Mommy'.

_**End Confessional**_

Dakota let out an animal-like roar as she charged over to the jeep, swinging her chainsaw wildly with Ezekiel on her shoulder and Micheal at her side. The Nisilaha leaped into the air and came crashing down on the hood of the car, denting it beyond repair and destroying the engine in one clean move. "I don't think Chris is going to get his deposit back on that." Trey whimpered as Ezekiel attacked the vehicle, swiping at the windows with his claws and talons. A loud screeching sound filled the air as they dug into the glass and slid down, but the shrill noise didn't seem to bother the monsters as much as the contestants. Dakota raised a foot and stomped down hard on the roof, smashing the windshield and filling the world with broken glass shards as Anuok and Trey hugged the jeeps floor. The three of them continued to attack the car, Dakota managing to cut out a hole in the roof with her chainsaw. She reached in and pulled out a shaking Anuok, looking at her with a hungry as she licked her lips. She opened her large jaws, readying bite down on Anuok's head and rip it off her frail body until Anuok quickly bit down on Dakota's finger, hard. The mutant girl yelled in anger and threw Anuok to the ground. Trey took the moment of distraction climb out through a smashed car window and run over to the trailer, Anuok hot on his heels just as Reese unlocked the last lock.

"Quick! Get inside!" he yelled.

"Don't need to tell me twice!" yelled Trey, yanking Reese inside the trailer as Anuok dashed in behind him, closing and locking the door to the trailer. They were safe. For now.

* * *

><p>"Chris, man! They made it!" Chef called out. Chris emerged from a growing stack of papers to see his co-host was right; he could see the terrified faces of the cast trough the bullet proof windows of the trailers as the monsters approached them.<p>

"Yes! They're alive!" Chris cheered. That is, until Dakota, Micheal, Toni, and Kiko ruthlessly attacked both trailers, clawing and biting at the windows and sides of the trailers. Both of them shook and moved under their weight, Izzy and Mortisha working on one of the windows as Mitchell worked on a door.

"Are those things gonna hold?" Chef asked, worried. Chris bit his lip, crossing his fingers.

* * *

><p>Screaming. That's all Caroline could do as the monsters that had formally been her cast mates tore at the trailers trying to get inside. Their hollow, red eyes would haunt her for the rest of her days, especially those of Micheal as he savagely punched and tore at the windows with his bare hands. "I'm gonna beat ya four ways to Sunday!" he roared, smashing all four fists into the door and making a sizable dent, just big enough to see a small glimpse of the outside. Caroline cowered in the corner, unsure of what to do as Maurananei grabbed a stray crowbar, ready to defend herself and team mates. "Why are they acting so savage?" she asked as the trailer gave a big jump.<p>

"I don't know," Zelda admitted, hanging onto the mini-kitchens counter. The trailers were outfitted with a small kitchen and mini-fridge, a small dining area, and a collapsible bed for two, as well as bullet proof windows and heat resistant siding. At least, they hoped it was heat resistant; the hindges around the door were growing red hot as Mitchel hurled flames at them. "Chris claimed that they were under the control of the 'Spirit of Bony Isle', and I know for a fact that ghosts aren't real."

"You're wrong." Alan stated, hanging onto a chair as the trailer rocked.

"Excuse me?"

"Remember from season 1 how Chris made Chef dress up as a psycho-killer, only for a real one to show up?" he asked. "Clearly, it's a relapse of that, only with a vengeful spirit."

"Come on, Zelda. It's the only we've got to go on." Maurananei urged her before yelling some very nasty words at Izzy, who had managed to finally crack the nearest window. Zelda sighed and held her head; everything she knew was beginning to fall around her, everything she had learned had been a lie. It seemed as if she was going to have to broaden her horizons and except the supernatural to survive the show, even if science didn't. She quickly pulled out her phone and opened an internet browser, her phone being more capable than others at finding a Wifi signal in the wilderness than others (she had modified it herself). She typed into the search engine 'Spirit of Bony Isle' and waited tensely as the loud shrieking of Dakota's chainsaw filled the air.

Meanwhile, in the other trailer, Reese had long since wet his pants many times, the air starting to reek of stale pee as the monsters continued to batter and bash at the trailer; Kiko attacked with her crab claw, smashing it against the window; Mortisha sliced at the sides with her scythe as Mitchell hurled more fire at the door; Toni was on the roof, her tail sometimes appearing in a window as he clawed and bit at the sunroof. While the boys panicked and huddled in the middle of the room (Trey trying to ignore the wetness of Reese's pants) Anuok was crouching low against the sides, trying to stay steady as a million thoughts ran through her head. She tried to stand up on shaky legs, holding onto the drawers and cabinets of the mini-kitchen for support. Her hand knocked open a cupboard, and something fell out and onto the floor. Anuok took one look at the object and silently screamed, joining the boys as an old doll with ragged clothes and rotting skin rolled around the shaking trailer.

"How's that search coming!?" Maurananei roared, smashing Mortisha's hand as it reached through the small hole Izzy had managed to make in the glass. The bloody and swelling hand pulled away as the trailer gave a sudden heave and fell on it side, the front windows giving a brilliant view of the sky and the back windows giving an excellent view of the wet grass and mud. "Got it!" Zelda moaned, wincing at the throbbing in her right arm as she held the phone up for her team mates to see. As they read over the text, their eyes widened in horror, then scrunched up into confusion and then slight amusement. "That's seriously all we have to do?" Alan asked. Zelda nodded. "Anyone have any breath mints?" she asked. Her team mates patted and dug around in their pockets before Alan pulled out a large bag of them from his back pocket, sheepishly claiming he brought them to impress the ladies. "So all we have to do is pop these things in their mouths?" Maurananei asked skeptically.

Zelda nodded. "Yep. Once the spirit's banished, we just have to wait until sunrise before the sunlight will kill it once and for all."

"Good. I'm glad that's all we have to- woah!" Alan cried as the trailer suddenly jumped, causing them all to fall to the floor (or wall in this case). Caroline groaned and rubbed her sore head, looking out the windows to see the world slowly inching by with each hit the trailer took. She gulped and looked out the ceiling skylight to see the edge of a very large cliff. "They're gonna push us over," she said to herself. "They're going to push us over!" she screamed, pointing towards the cliff. Her team mates quickly joined her in panic as the combined forces of Dakota, Micheal, and Toni worked together to shove the trailers towards the edge of the cliff as Kiko stood by idly, watching the whole thing with sick satisfaction.

"We have to go now!" yelled Maurananei, grabbing her crowbar and throwing it at the nearest window, smashing it with ease. She quickly climbed out the window, carefully avoiding the sharp edges of glass as he team mates followed her. By the time Maurananei was outside, she was barely dodging attacks from Mitchell and Mortisha as Izzy senseless rammed her head into the trailer with the others. Her crowbar, Maurananei parried and attacked every blow Mortisha struck at her with her scythe as the others barely dodged Mitchell. As the pyromaniac attacked Alan and Caroline with balls of fire, Zelda scaled the nearest tree, climbing up to the highest available branch and whipping out her collapsible bo staff, sucking in a deep breath. "Now or never." she said to herself before jumping off the branch with the bo staff twirling around in her fingers as she fell. She struck Mitchell in the jaw with her outpaced foot and smacked him over the head with her bo staff, tossing two mints into his mouth before smoothly moving Mortisha and striking her in the side as she was distracted by Maurananei, who popped tow mints into her mouth as she fell against a tree.

* * *

><p>"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Reese screamed as the roof (now the wall) was torn open and the hungry face of Toni appeared. "It's . . it's . . . darn, I don't know what to call that thing." he grumbled. "Lagarbuini!" Micheal's deep voice rumbled, a pained yelp coming right after as Kiko smacked him over the head with her tentacles. "Do not educate the food! <em>Get <em>the food!" she ordered. Micheal nodded and ripped a small tree out of the ground, swinging it like a baseball bat and propelling the tree towards the cliff. Toni snapped her jaws, jamming her head inside the hole as her long tongue drooped out over her teeth and a long strand of saliva fell onto Anuok's head. The Lagarbuini tore at the hole some more, being able to shove a foreleg inside the trailer and further her reach some more.

The attacks on the trailer were becoming less frequent as the eagles took on the monsters, tackling Izzy first just to be on the safe side. As Alan acted as bait, running around screaming and attacking the crazy red head, Caroline, Maurananei, and Zelda tackled her to the ground, holding her there until Alan dropped the mints into her mouth and forced the evil spirit out. They went after Ezekiel next, Caroline being able to take him down single handedly with a solid punch to the face, just like last time. Dakota proved to be the most difficult to handle, even after Maurananei managed to tear the chainsaw away from her grip. With a loud roar, she gave chase after Alan as Caroline jumped onto her back, riding the mutant like an oversized horse as she climbed up her rough skin, using her large spikes as hand holds until she had wrapped her legs around the mutant's neck. Dakota paid little attention to Caroline thankfully as the small girl popped a breath mint between Dakota's lethal jaws. The mutant began to slow down, as if she was suddenly tiring. She then fell to the ground with a loud _thud_, Caroline diving off just before she could be crushed under Dakota's bulk. A red vapor escaped her lips and joined the medium sized ball of red gas that was floating above the clearing; five down, three to go.

With a yell, the Eagles attacked Micheal as one, Maurananei holding down two arms as Zelda and Alan each handled one and Caroline held the legs, managing to toss a handful of breath mints into Micheal's mouth as they clapped shut. The Nisilaha stayed down as a red trail ran out over his teeth and joined the red ball of vapor. "You guys handle Kiko," Caroline panted, exhausted from the sudden burst of activity. "I'll get inside the trailer and see if I can coax that overgrown lizard to eat these things." she said, rushing off before her team could argue. The trailer by now, was sitting precariously on the edge of the cliff, inching closer and closer as Toni continued to try and get inside. The Lagarbuini had managed to get both fore legs and head inside the trailer, her back spikes being the only thing keeping her out as the Rhinos were forced to cowering the corner of the trailer, away from the cliff. The sound of grunting and mild cursing could be heard coming to their left, the Rhinos fearing it to be another monster after them; it quickly turned out to be Caroline as she fell through the shaking tunnel of tough fabric. "Help!" Reese cried, pointing at the Lagarbuini.

Caroline sucked in a deep breath and focused her mind, reaching out to the animal in front of her. "Hello? Mrs. Lagarbuini?" she said. The large lizard-like alien stopped moving for a moment to stare at the small girl its four red eyes narrowing as she talked.

"_Food?" _it asked her.

"No! I'm not food!" Caroline said quickly. "Can you just stop moving please? We're literally on the brink of falling over a cliff." she told the alien. The Lagarbuini glanced out the window to see the scrawny prey in front of her was indeed telling the truth. Not that she cared. Hopefully, she would survive the fall and be able to feast on the carcasses of her prey in piece. With renewed savagery, the Lagarbuini managed to shove its entire body into the small trailer, taking most of the available room. It roared, and its prehensile tail wrapped itself around the three cowering teens in the corner before edging closer and closer to Caroline, snapping its jaws as Caroline. Caroline cringed at the alien's bad breath. Caroline could feel the trailer tipping towards the edge under the Lagarbuini's weight and knew it was now or never. Sucking in a deep breath, she thrust her arm forward into the Lagarbuini's mouth, breath mints in hand. Caroline screamed as the animal snapped its jaws shut, its razor, sharp teeth digging into her skin. The animal moved its head up and shook its head like a dog, trying to snap her arm off. The trailer shuddered and suddenly turned as it went over the edge, cabinet doors clattering open and furniture all falling to one side as everyone in the trailer screaming or screeching at the top of their lungs as they fell!

* * *

><p>Zelda grunted as she rolled to the side to dodge a tentacle. The tendril smashed into the ground and slid after her, puffer fish spines suddenly appearing on the pinkish flesh. <em>Interesting, <em>Zelda thought. _The watch allows the wearer to combine DNA into its current transformation. Knowing Kiko, I'll have to fix that glitch,_ she added, throwing a throwing star at the tentacle and listening to the satisfying scream of agony from Kiko. Alan meanwhile, was doing his best to avoid the giant crab claw, using his best dance moves to dodge the mutant's attacks. Maurananei had torn off the bumper of the trashed jeep and was currently using it to attack Kiko's head. The ill tempered girl swung the bumper and smacked the mutant upside the head, a needle-like tooth popping free from her jaw. Before the mutant could react, Maurananei hit her upside the head again and gave a swift kick to her human arm, Kiko squealing in pain. Maurananei swung the bumper again, almost determined to knock Kiko's head clean off. Before the bumper could make contact with Kiko's face for a third time, one of the tentacles from her head grabbed the bumper and tore it away with ease. Maurananei gulped as Kiko swung her head down and grabbed at Maurananei, wrapping her tentacles around and tossing her across the clearing. Another swipe at her lower pair of tentacles, and Zelda was thrown into a tree. Alan gulped as Kiko grin maliciously at him, her human hands coming to together and cracking her knuckles.

_**Confessional**_

"I'm pretty sure you can guess what I did next." said Alan with a nervous laugh.

_**End Confessional**_

"MOMMY!" Alan screamed at the top his lungs, running across the clearing with arms flailing over his head as Kiko gave chase, pulling herself around quickly with her large tentacles. Alan ran across the clearing and around a tree, doubling back as Kiko followed his every move, smashing the tree to bits in her mad chase after him.

"He's really turned running in terror into an art form." Mitchell moaned as he slowly came to.

"Never mind that! Look!" Micheal yelled, pointing to the trailers with two of his arms. The tip of the Lagarbuini tail could just be seen as the large animal made its way into the trailer. It shook and rumbled as a struggle ensued inside, the trailer edging closer and closer to the cliff before it suddenly gave way and started to fall down the side. "NO!" Micheal cried, jumping to his feet. He quickly lunged for the trailer's wheel axle, managing to grab it with all four of his arms before it tumbled out of reach. The trailer jerked to a stop, but the combined weight of both trailers and everyone inside was too much, even for the powerful Nisilaha. The weight was slowly dragging him closer to the edge of the drop-off, his legs futility kicking behind him until Mitchell piled on top of them, adding his own weight to keep the trailers from slipping. He was quickly joined by Ezekiel, who bit into his pant leg and began pulling back. Izzy, crazy as she was, decided to help and shot out a strand of webbing from her jointed spider legs, laughing maniacally with a crazed look in her eye.

"C'mon, Dino Girl! Join in!" Izzy cried happily as Dakota stomped over and grabbed Mitchell in her fist, pulling back with all her might. Only Mortisha did not join in the huge chain of bodies to prevent the falling of their comrades. She was looking between the struggle with the trailers and the struggle with Kiko, unsure of which battle to choose from. _Come on, Mortisha! Think! I know you like Trey, but which is really important here? _she thought. _Your friends? Or a possible boyfriend?_ The thought was killing her. She had spent the majority of her life alone with her odd family in their large mansion. Most people found them creepy and weird, as they considered performing dangerous stunts and maiming themselves a past time. Mortisha bit her lip, glancing back and forth between each group before finally deciding. Without hesitation, she ran towards the trailers and swung her scythe over her head and down, digging it into Dakota's ankle as the giant roared at the sharp pain. She pulled back, the blade sinking deeper into Dakota's flesh, but the she didn't seem to care. Inch by inch, they were slowly making their way back up the cliff, sweat pouring down everyone's faces. When they finally got Micheal back on the ground, they quickly switched to a standing chain, digging their heels into the earth as the pulled back, the trailers rumbling and shaking as they pulled.

* * *

><p>Pain. That's all Caroline could feel. Red hot, searing pain in her arm as the giant, jagged teeth sank into her flesh. She didn't know which would kill her first, the fall or the predator stuck in the trailer with her. As she wrestled with the beast, Anuok, Trey, and Reese weakly beat their fists against the Lagarbuini's tail, hoping to loosen its grip and help Caroline, but the tail just curled tighter and tighter. "Come on, why aren't those stupid mints working!?" Caroline grunted as she pulled her arm back and felt like she had just ripped it out of her socket. She screamed in agony again, and the beast suddenly released a cloud of yellow gas that filled the trailer, pouring up and out of the hole in the ceiling. "That's not good! Pull harder!" she heard Micheal cry. The gas made her eyes water as she coughed heavily. Clearly it was a mechanism to distract would be predators why the Lagarbuini ran away, or to confuse and distract prey before striking it down; Caroline was hoping with the first option. Unfortunately, the animal refused to let go. Caroline desperately reached her hand for something to use as a weapon, anything to get the animal to let go. Anuok saw that desperate look in her eye and dug around in her pocket before pulling out one of her daggers. Giving a shrill whistle, she threw the dagger at Caroline, watching as it clattered to the floor.<p>

The small girl quickly reached the weapon and stabbed the Lagarbuini's head, watching with relief as the blade sank deeply into the animal's head. The predator let go of her arm and scratched at the blade with its claws. It seemed the blow had missed the brain entirely, but was causing enough pain and agony that the monster wouldn't attack her. Caroline avoided looking at her arm and scrambled to the back of the animal, dodging the stray legs and tail as she made her way to the Rhinos. She grabbed the tail in her heads and suddenly bit down as hard as she could, listening with satisfaction to a high pitched squeal, much like that of a dog's. The tail quickly unraveled, and the creature made its escpae through the roof, cries of surprise being heard from outside, followed by several loud _thwacks_.

"Dakota beat big lizard! Yay, Dakota!" Caroline heard her cry. "Ooh! Pretty red ribbon!"

* * *

><p>"Help me!" Alan screamed, Kiko hot on his tail. Her instincts were telling her that the scrawny prey in front of her was tiring, she could tell by how slowly it dodged her attacks, barely making it out of the way. Just a little more time, and she would have him right where she wanted him. Maybe she would play with him for a bit, letting him go only to catch him again, or maybe she would use him like a ball of yarn, batting and swatting him around before eating him. Either way, her hunger would be satisfied. "And that is not the only thing that will satisfied." she hissed to herself. The voice in her head was having a grand old time, what with finally having a body again. And such a body! It was so powerful, if not a bit horrific to look at. But the power! The unimaginable power! The raw strength in every tentacle, in her crab claw! Even her pathetic, human arms even seemed a bit more powerful! The spirit kept this mind as he lashed out with a tentacle and managed to trip Alan, watching s he tumbled to the dirt and groaned.<p>

With little patience left, he lunged forward with his crab claw, ready to crush him and then slowly eat the remains. He was ready to feel Alan's flesh pop between his giant claw like an overcooked hotdog, but the feeling didn't come. Nothing came. It was as if time had frozen. No matter how hard he squeezed her claw down, it wouldn't budge. He soon saw why. Zelda had thrown herself between Alan and him and thrust her hands up and her legs down, jamming herself between the two halves of the claw. The spirit had to give her credit; she had guts. And he was ready to see those guts all over the place. Soon the girl would tire and he easily snap her in half before going after the boy. _I will have _two _dinners! _he thought with glee. "Don't just stand there, Alan! Put the mints in her mouth! I'm not sure how much longer I can hold this!" Zelda grunted, her arms and legs burning as more pressure was put on them and they were pushed to the limits. She suddenly faltered, catching herself just before she was crushed and forcing the claw up a little. She had a little time left provided Alan would hurry up.

Breathing heavily, Alan scrambled up from the ground and ran behind Kiko, knowing she was too distracted to notice him. A whistle caught his attention, and he saw Maurananei in the bushes. "What are you waiting for? Get her!" Maurananei hissed, jabbing a finger at Kiko's head.

"If I climb up her back, she'll know I'm there. I need you throw me so I'll catch her off guard." he whispered. Maurananei liked the idea already and picked up Alan's scrawny body in her hand before he could protest. She quickly aimed and chucked him forward, watching with a small smile on her face as he soared the air and smacked hard against Kiko's head, groaning. "2 points!" Maurananei cheered. Alan ignored the comment and weakly punched one of Kiko's head tentacles before it could grab him. He quickly skittered out of the way and around Kiko's large collar bone and up to her face where her eye glared down at him, daring to come closer as she snapped her jaws. Alan gulped and looked for some way, any way to get the mints inside her mouth. But the cage of jagged teeth seemed all but impenetrable until he noticed a small opening where Maurananei had knocked out one of Kiko's teeth, just big enough for his hand. With a wimpy battle cry, he shoved his fist forward between the teeth and let the mints go, watching as they tumbled into the darkness that was Kiko's throat. The huge beast shuddered and stopped moving, just as Zelda popped free from her claw and tumbled to the ground, exhausted. Alan dove off of Kiko as she shuddered again and began foaming at the mouth. She was screaming in agony and shaking and quaking until a large, red vapor trail shot out of her mouth and joined the ball of red gas in the air, Kiko dropping to the ground without movement.

The trailers had managed to be saved, and everyone inside made it out, Micheal making a quick splint out of sticks and wrapped long grass around Caroline's arm until they could get proper medical treatment. "Thanks," she smiled as a red flash filled the air and Micheal was changed back. The hero smiled and hugged her when a suddenly screeching sound filled the air. Everyone turned to look upward at the red ball of gas, watching as it began to take shape. It formed a vague phantom shape, pointed at the top and bottom, two bony arms forming at the sides and tipped with razor sharp claws. A single violet colored eye formed in the center of the face. Heavy, black shackles formed around it's wrists, waist, neck, and arms, the neck and arm shackles being chained to a large lead ball that was stuck in the ghost's center. The eye blinked and looked down at all of the terrified teens.

"Curse you stupid mortals!" the Spirit of Bony Island cried. "Why must you always ruin everything!?"

"You tried to kill us!" Maurananei shot back angrily.

"You enslaved us!" Mitchell yelled.

"Grrrrrrrrr." Ezekiel growled, his lip curling back to show his teeth.

The ghost seemed unfazed by this and pouted. "And thanks to those stupid breath mints of yours, I can't posses any of your stupid bodies!"

"How come it took breath mints to rid us of an evil spirit anyway?" Micheal asked as Izzy bounced him and Caroline happily, ignoring the red ghost hovering the air above her (she was pretty sure it was just a hallucination anyway).

"Because mint leaves were the ghost's weakness." said Zelda, wincing at the burning pain in her arms. "I looked it up on the internet."

"Did you by chance look up how to kill it?" Mortisha asked hopefully.

"Nothing can kill me, you fools! I'm already a ghost!" the spirit cried, cackling afterward and ignoring Zelda's sly grin as she glanced at her watch and then the horizon to see it turning a bright gold and orange. "Start planning your funeral anyway!" she yelled as the sun peeked over the horizon and washed over them all. The spirit screeched in agony, crimson smoke curling off its body as the sunlight ate away at him like a starving wolf. Tiny beams of light shot from random points on the ghosts body as the sun rose higher into the sky before the ghost suddenly exploded into a bright gold colored ball that blinded everyone. It was several moments before anyone could see anything again.

"Well, that's over with." chirped Alan, grinning as Zelda wrapped an arm around him.

"Nice job back there." she told him. Alan was about to say something when a red flash of light filled the air. Alan screamed as a large pit bull wearing a red collar around its neck tackled him to the ground, trying to bite his head. "No, Micheal! Bad dog! BAD DOG!" Zelda yelled angrily. The pit bull backed off, confused. Zelda sighed and pinched her brow. "I guess this sort of my fault for not telling you," she began slowly. "But me and Alan made peace. I won't be needing your services anymore." she told him. The pit bull's ears drooped slightly, its tail swinging between its legs as it knelt down into a submissive posture. Alan cocked and eyebrow and looked Zelda. "I think he wants you to forgive him." she told him. Alan nodded and knelt down to the pit bull's face, scratching it behind the ear as the pit bull sprang up and happily licked his face. "Okay, okay! Easy, boy, easy!" Alan cried happily as the pit bull wagged his tail.

* * *

><p>After about an hour of slowly walking through the woods and carrying the injured and exhausted, the teens arrived on the beach of Bony Island. Dakota had easily carried Ezekiel and a reluctant Trey as the giant mutant cuddled him closely; Micheal had carried Caroline and Anuok across the island via pack mule; Alan had carried Zelda piggy back, telling her it was the least he could do after what she did for him at the beginning of the challenge; Maurananei, Reese, Izzy, Mortisha, and a peeved Kiko had opted to walk by themselves, Toni hanging back from the group as she tried to get pieces of Caroline's flesh out from between her teeth. "So, what do we do know?" Reese asked, plunking down on a rock and enjoying the war sun on his bare skin as another red flash filled the air, and Caroline and Anuok fell to the ground.<p>

"I've got that covered," said Micheal as he stepped out into the water and swam out quite a distance onto the lake before slapping the watch face. Another blast of red light engulfed him, changing his DNA at the molecular structure. His body began to expand, making him into a fifty foot giant human as he rose up out of the water and towered over all of his friends. His face pushed forward into a long, triangular snout as his mouth broadened and his eyes moved down his head. His ears and every strand of hair on his head vanished as his fingers melted together into long, bumpy paddles. His legs wound themselves around each other as feet became giant, triangular flukes. Unable to stand any longer, he fell forward into the lake, making a tidal wave that drenched everyone on shore to the bone. He could feel layers of fat piling up under his skin and muscles, making him warmer in the lake's chilly water. A hole formed in his neck as his head and body became one, his nose vanishing entirely as a small dorsal fin (at least compared to him) formed on his back. His teeth disappeared and were replaced by thick brushes as his tongue filled his mouth and his vocal cords became nonexistent, completing the transformation.

The humpback whale slowly moved itself towards the beach, turning around and setting its large tail on the sand, letting out a loud moaning chirp. The contestants and veterans climbed onto the whale's back, using his flukes as a sort of ramp. Dakota climbed on last after moving the whale's tail back into the water, allowing him to power out of the shallow bay and back into the deeper water.

"I never thought I'd say this," Maurananei grumbled under her breath. "But, Pahkitew or bust!" she cried, the others cheering with her as the humpback whale sped off towards the island. They arrived about a half hour later to see Chef and Chris hurriedly shoving luggage and bags into the submarine used for the Torpedo of Shame. Several interns also helped load the baggage into the submarine, but from the terrified looks on their faces, they knew they weren't coming with. That or their last job ever would be to feed the sharks before Chris and Chef left. Micheal silently pulled up next to the submarine, a broad grin that showed the baleen in his mouth forming when he let out a blast of air from his blowhole that frightened the pants off of Chris, causing him to drop his hair gel into the recesses of the lake.

"What-how-why- you're alive!?" the host stammered as Chef glanced at them, gasped, and ran back onto the island, dropping the baggage he was carrying into the lake. "How are you all alive?" Chris asked, finally able to make words.

"Never mind that!" Kiko snapped. "Who won the challenge! I'm covered in mud and bugs, I just turned into a mutant again, and I am sleep deprived!" she roared, causing everyone to flinch slightly as Micheal joined them on the docks, cracking his back slightly and wincing at the sound.

"Okay, okay! Geez!" said Chris, clearly not happy with how Kiko was talking to him. "The winners of the challenge were going to be who could stay in their trailer the longest, so that means the Rampaging Rhinos win!" Chris announced with mock enthusiasm, the Rhinos whooping and cheering happily. "However!" Chris yelled, causing the celebration to immediately stop. "Since Reese is not wearing the shirt I gave him, or any shirt for that matter, I declare the Extreme Eagles to be the winners! They will get to enjoy a night in the Hangout of Awesomeness! Again." Chris added, looking disapproval. Reese gulped.

* * *

><p>"Any final words?" Chris asked without a care as Reese was shoved into his tiny capsule. The Rhinos had protested and argued that they should at least be able to vote for who they wanted to go, but Chris reminded them that if any of them lost the shirts he gave them, they would automatically lose. Reese sighed as he looked back at his team mates, who were looking at him with sadness and pity. "Sorry, dude." Micheal said sadly. "Trust me when I say we would have kept you on." Reese nodded as Trey stepped forward, shaking his hand. "It was good while it lasted, huh?" he chuckled. "You're gonna have to teach me that lock picking trick some time." Reese smiled as Anuok hugged him tightly, Toni giving him a slight wave good bye, still feeling bad about trying to eat him. With one last look, Reese climbed inside the capsule, the lid closing shut. Chef easily picked the capsule up and loaded it into the torpedo tube, door shut as Chris pressed firing button and a dull <em>boom <em>could be heard outside the sub. Chris dusted off his hands and stowed the remote in his pocket, not caring as the contestants all glared at him and followed him out of the sub to join him on the dock. A small cargo ship was docked there, with a large, steel cage waiting on deck as Dakota was shoved inside, screaming and howling as several interns jabbed at her with cattle prods. She suddenly stopped and groaned, holding her stomach before stomping pas the interns and over to Chris, where she let a jet of vomit pour out of her mouth and over the host as he howled in misery. With a sickly groan, Dakota went back to her cage and lay down. Ezekiel whimpered and jumped inside the cage after her, curling up in her lap happily as she sadly scratched him on the back with one of her claws. Izzy giddily jumped on board the ship, frightening the driver when she asked if he was an alien in disguise checking up on her. Mortisha floated on board like a ghost without saying a word to cast, a million thoughts rushing through her head as the boat's horn sounded and the ship began to move. "Glad that's all over with." said Chris, walking down the dock and toward his quarters when he was yanked back by a strong grip.

"Not quite, McLean," Micheal spat, saying his name like a curse. "There's still the matter of you hypnotizing us to attack our team mates." Before Chris could protest or run away in terror, Micheal slapped down on the Animatrix, using up the last juice before it would need to recharge to turn into a _Tyrannosaurus Rex_. Toni quickly morphed back into the Lagarbuini as Anuok drew out her sharpened daggers and Trey grabbed a big stick, brandishing it like a club as he mounted onto Micheal's back, Anuok on Toni's. "FOR REESE!" Trey cried, his battle cry drowned out by the 's loud roar. Chris screamed as the Rhinos gave chase after him, the sound of screams of fright music to the Eagle's ears as they played away in the Hangout of Awesomeness.

"Things have just gone from bad to worse!" Chris announced to the camera, dodging a snap of Micheal's lethal jaws. "Will Zelda manage to debug her Animatrix? Will Micheal and Caroline remain a couple after all I've put them through? And will I make it out of here alive!?" he cried as Trey whacked him over the head with his branch. "Find out next time, on Total! Drama! Pahkitew's Vengeance! Help me!" he cried as the Rhinos chased him around the island.

**And there it is! The longest chapter in Pahkitew's Vengeance history!**

**And I'm sorry for all of you who were rooting for Reese to win. I already had this all planned out, and unfortunately Reese was the next one to go. He will however, return at some point, though he may not be in the game anymore. As always, post your comments in the review below and send your suggestions to me via PM.**

**Up next: the 1st Aftermath! What insanity will ensue?**

**Hasta Luego!**


	6. TDPV Aftermath I: Fright Fest

**Greetings, ladies and gentlemen! Introducing the first ever Total Drama: Pahkitew's Vengeance Aftermath (that is one long title)! And yes, I realize I posted the last episode just yesterday. Go ahead and sue me! I've got Courtney's lawyers just itching for a case!**

**And as I have nothing else to say, I shall shut up and let you read on!**

"Earthquake!" Kiko yelled.

"The Cops!" Maurananei roared.

"The Apocalypse!" Zelda cried in a muffled voice.

"My twin sister!" Eduardo said with a bored tone.

"Neither!" Caroline managed to moan. Maurananei turned to her with a worry all over her. "Well? What is it!?" she roared in a panicked sense. If there is nothing more terrifying than your deepest, darkest fears, it's facing those deep, dark fears in the unknown. And that was what they were experiencing right now.

"Elephant!" Caroline screamed. Maurananei dashed to the window and saw a massive mountain of muscle and bone crashing through the trees, flattening them with ease.

* * *

><p>A rippling noise met Zelda's ears and she looked around, once again finding nothing unusual. A couple minutes later Zelda was sure she heard another splash, accompanied by heavy breathing, as if the thing stalking her was a mere 2 feet away.<p>

That was when she was noticed the blonde covered ball sitting on a pile or orange cloth.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Zelda screamed, covering her most private parts as Alan moved through the water towards, a sort of disturbing, hungry look in his eye.

* * *

><p>Caroline's smile broadened. "Yep. All you have to do is cooperate long enough for us to win. If we don't, I keep up the deal anyway. Do we have a deal?"<p>

Fracture seemed to consider for a brief moment before rearing into the air and kicking and bucking his legs wildly. _Cupcake, you've got yerself a deal. Just one question._

"What's that?"

_Can I at least torture Chicken Face a little?_

"Be my guest." Caroline mischievously smiled. "Just try not to kick him into too many cacti."

* * *

><p>"AAAAAAAAAWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"<p>

"AAAAARRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"HHH-RRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!"

"Why!?" Toni wailed as she shoved her face into her pillow.

_**(theme song)**_

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen!" Geoff announced happily, posing for the camera with a smiling Bridgette at his side. "And welcome to the first episode of Total! Drama! Pahkitew's Vengeance Aftermath!" he said as the audience cheered and clapped. "That's right, Geoff!" said Bridgette, seating herself and Geoff down on the main couch of the studio. "After three seasons of Total Drama without an Aftermath, we're back and better than ever! And for those of you who've noticed, this is going to be a _very _special episode!" Bridgette added, gesturing to herself, Geoff and the studio.

The normal amount of comforting lanterns of odd shapes and sizes that hung from the ceiling were replaced with glowing jack o' lanterns, their wide grins smiling on the audience as their eyes glowed. Fake cob webs hung from the spotlights and lined the front of the stage, several _real _spiders skittering among them. The two floor lights that sat on either side of the stage were dimmed, holographic ghosts and ghouls swirling around inside. The five couches were replaced with black leather ones, their arms and backs made up of arm and leg bones, cobweb patterned pillows sitting on their cushions. The hosts themselves were also decked out, Geoff dressed in a vampire costume and his lucky cowboy hat missing, Bridgette dressed to look like Frankenstein's bride. Geoff grinned at the camera and hissed, showing off his fake fangs as Bridgette cackled, trying to mimic Izzy as lightning sounded from outside.

"That's right! We're kicking off the Aftermath with a Halloween special! And for those of you that haven't noticed . . . . . where have you been sleeping, in a coffin!?" he joked, chuckling as the audience laughed with him. Bridgette smiled and rolled her eyes, continuing on. "And joining me and Geoff as always is the Peanut Gallery!" Bridgette said, gesturing to her left towards two couches on risers. "Unfortunately, since the Total Drama Family has gotten so big, they couldn't all be here. Please welcome the lucky ones that could make it! Dakota, Ezekiel, Sam, Gwen, Zoey, Mike, Ella, and Leonard!" she said, gesturing to the seven teens that lined the couches; Sam was sitting in Dakota's lap playing a video game with Ezekiel sitting on her shoulder like a parrot as she sat on the floor, too big for the couches; Gwen sat on the first couch with her arms folded across her chest next to Zoey and Mike, who were holding hands and smiling as the camera panned over them; Leonard sat in the back row, regaling an enthusiastic Ella with one of his LARPing tales.

"So, Gwen? You glad to be back?" Bridgette asked her friend. Gwen scoffed and blew a strand of dyed hair out of her face. "I'd rather be anywhere else." she grumbled. Bridgette smiled and moved on. "And about you, Zoey?" The redhead smiled nervously and waved at the camera. "Of course! I _love _Total Drama!" Bridgette smiled as Geoff continued on. "And as we all love Total Drama, what's the show without some losers? We've got the past four contestants booted off the show behind stage right now!" said Geoff, pointing behind him. "But first! It's time for that classic segment you all love!" Geoff cried, standing up as he introduced the next segment. "'That's Gonna Leave a Mark!'"

* * *

><p>The sound of an angry elephant fills the shaking scream as Eduardo glanced behind him and flinched slightly as the ground shook and rumbled. The African Elephant suddenly appeared on scream, trunk swinging left and right as it stampeded forward with Anuok, Reese, and Caroline on his back and Zelda in his trunk. Eduardo yelped as the elephant ran him over without concern or probably even knowing he was even there.<p>

"Finally!" Eduardo gasped, his face planted in the dirt and his arms and legs sticking up at odd angles.

* * *

><p>Reese was walking through the woods, whistling nervously as he walked up to the confessional. It was night, the moon full and obscured by clouds as a wolf sounded off in the distance. His fingers curled around the door handle and he yanked it open. Suddenly, the psycho-killer with a chainsaw and a hook popped out, chainsaw roaring as he screamed at the top of his lungs. Reese yelled in fright and slammed the door in the psycho-killer's face, watching as the door swung open again and the killer fell to the ground, unconscious.<p>

* * *

><p>"Maurananei! Let it go! You've won already!" Chris yelled as Reese screamed. Maurananei ignored the shouts that distracted her from her sick game. She had once been tempted to draw out her knife and make Reese's torture even crueler, but thought better of it. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Chef, Mitchell, and Micheal preparing to tackle her, save Reese from her. "Time for the swan song." she said to herself. She lightly stepped off of Reese's back, giving him brief relief from the pain that coursed through his body. But it was short lived when he felt a bone crushing force suddenly slam into his back. What had happened was simple; Maurananei charged toward the side of the crater and ricocheted off of it, sailing through the air before landing with her feet planted on Reese's spine. The small boy howled in pain as Maurananei put a foot triumphantly on his skull, shoving it into the dirt. Before she could command anyone to take a picture of her, she slammed into by three large figures: Chef, Mitchell, and a Nisilaha. While Mithcell and Micheal kept Maurananei firmly pinned to the ground, Chef pried Reese out of the sand and slung him over his shoulder, rushing him to the infirmary.<p>

* * *

><p>"Ooh! That's gotta be brutal!" Geoff winced as he watched the last clip. "Maurananei sure did a number on the little guy, didn't she?" he chuckled. Despite how he was acting, he truly did feel sorry for the poor kid deep down. Bridgette saw the look in his eye and knew he wasn't going 'Captain Hollywood' as she called it. "She sure did, Geoff. He's pranked the most dangerous girl on the show, and uses pee as a defense mechanism against alien predators! Please welcome Reese!" the monster dress said, the audience clapping and cheering as Reese was shoved on stage by a mean looking Chef. Reese gulped and sat down on the sofa to Geoff and Bridgette's right, nearly peeing himself again when he noticed the human bones.<p>

"So, Reese?" Geoff asked. "How'd it feel to get creamed by Maurananei in the Wild West challenge?" Reese looked at Geoff as if he was the dumbest person on the planet. "What do you think, Geoff? I was stuck in a wheelchair for two weeks after that! I'm never going near Maurananei again!" he cried, folding himself up in a fetal position as Geoff and Bridgette looked at him with concern. Uh, so Reese?" Bridgette asked the small boy. "Was that the scariest encounter you've ever had, or did the last challenge get to you?" Reese tapped his chin in thought before answering a couple minutes later after Geoff reminded him it was a half hour show.

"I'd probably say the Halloween challenge is a close second with Maurananei beating me senseless a close third." he said, sitting back in his seat. Bridgette raised an eyebrow. "Really? What's the number one scariest thing that's ever happened to you?" she asked him.

"Easy. The first time my evil older brothers locked me in the dryer." Reese answered. Geoff was about to speak when he heard something in his ear, pausing for a second before continuing. "Really? It seems our people have found the exact incident. Role the clip!" Geoff yelled to the camera man as everyone looked up at the giant TV screen above them. A young Reese appeared, somewhere between five and eight years of age. He was wondering around what seemed to be a laundry room, easily identified by the hundreds of clothes hanging from the dozens of racks. Little Reese was suddenly grabbed by the shoulders by two older boys and shoved him into an open dryer, slamming the door shut and cackling as they walked out, Little Reese yelling fright and pounding on the dryer door.

"I can't believe your older brothers did that!" Bridgette gasped when the clip ended. The Peanut Gallery were glaring at Reese now, though Reese knew it was more directed at his older brothers. Ezekiel was hissing, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up as Dakota growled and stood up. "Dakota mad!" she roared as Sam slid off hr lap into the floor, his hand held video game falling out of his hands. Dakota roared again and stomped up to the TV screen, squishing the couch Geoff and Bridgette were sitting on beneath her feet as the couple dived out of the way. The mutant girl tore the screen from its stand easily and chucked it somewhere off screen, roaring when two small interns came running out with cattle prods. "NO! Dakota no want to go in cage again!" she roared as she picked up the couch Ella and Leonard were sitting on and threw it at them, sending them off the stage as Ella yelped and dove out of the way. Leonard merely held out his hands in front of Dakota yelling "Force Field!" as Dakota's clawed foot came crashing down on him, sending him through the floor and into the basement below.

The audience began to scream and panic as Dakota got more destructive, ripping off a spotlight stand and throwing it into the crowd; Ezekiel was having the time of his life, chasing a terrified Zoey and Mike across the stage as Sam tried desperately to calm down his monster girlfriend.

"We'll be right back after these messages!" Geoff yelled from behind the remains of a sofa before the camera went to static. "Hopefully!" he added as Bridgette screamed in the background.

* * *

><p>"Just a little tighter, Geoff." Bridgette instructed her boyfriend as he wrapped a bandage around her head and handed her an icepack. "What? What do you mean we're on?" Bridgette asked when she saw a director in the wings frantically waving at her. She glanced at the camera and realized they were indeed filming. "Oh! Um, we're back!" Bridgette said sheepishly. The studio was a mess, the jack o' lantern lights all smashed on the floor and stuffing and couch bits all over the place. The stage was a lot dimmer than before, all the lights smashed or broken. A large hole was in the middle of the stage, with a thick cloud of dust in the air. The hosts themselves didn't look any better; Geoff had lost a sleeve and was missing his vampire fangs while Bridgette's streaked hair style was a mess and her dress torn and tattered. Dakota was sound asleep near the remains of the peanut gallery couches, quietly snoring with a blanket covering her as Ezekiel dozed on her back. Ella had managed to lull the monstrous girl to sleep, much to everyone's relief.<p>

"Damages aside, we have another special guest up!" Bridgette said, wincing at the stab of pain in her head. " Our next guest uses himself as a cutting board to 'clean himself' and was trampled by an elephant in the first episode! Give it up for Eduardo!" Geoff announced, gesturing to stage left. The audience joined in, even when nobody came out for the first few seconds. Eduardo then came flying across the stage, Chef appearing from the wings and dusting off his hands as Eduardo crash landed into the remains of the guest couch next to a terrified Reese; the fact that his seat gave him a perfect view of Dakota's razor sharp teeth did nothing to calm the small boy.

"Hello, Leslie!" Geoff exclaimed with a smile. Eduardo frowned and covered his ears, glaring at both of the grinning hosts. "I hate loud people," he said quietly. "Just about as much as I hate being alive." Geoff raised an eyebrow and quickly whispered something into Bridgette's ear. The surfer blanked before suddenly gasping. "You can't be serious, Geoff!" she yelled. Geoff sighed. "Trust me when I say I don't like it anymore than you do," he told his girlfriend. "Okay, I _might _like it a little bit." he admitted after Bridgette glared at him.

"I hate it when people talk about me when like I'm not in the room." Eduardo growled, taking out a pocket knife from his pocket and taking off one of of his arm guards. Before anyone could stop him, he made six quick cuts into his scarred skin, dark red blood seeping out from the wounds until he put the arm guard back on. Geoff and Bridgette blinked before continuing on. "So, uh, Eduardo? I understand you enjoy inflicting massive amounts of pain onto yourself. That was the main reason you joined Total Drama, right?" Bridgette asked the EMO boy. Eduardo nodded. "Yeah, that was one of the main reasons; the other one was my mom. Believe me when I say she's a total **BEEP!**" Bridgette cringed at the censored word, but continued on. "You know, we have a special segment we think you might like. Would you like to try it?" she asked gently.

Eduardo rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

Geoff grinned. "Glad to see you're on board with this." he said. "It's time for everyone's favorite game, 'Truth or Anvil!'" Geoff exclaimed, pointing upwards toward a large anvil that hung from the rafters of the studio by a piece of rope that looked like it would give way at any time. "Here's the rules," Geoff continued. "We'll ask you a question, and you have to answer it _truthfully_. Lie, and you become pancakes." Eduardo looked up at the anvil and scoffed, blowing a stranding of lose hair from his Mohawk out of his face. "Seriously? An anvil? Is that the best you can do?" he asked. Geoff's face suddenly got scary as he grinned maliciously. Bridgette thought her boyfriend had suddenly been possessed by a demon for a second before realizing he was just acting, and doing a very good job at it.

"Actually, we've got a special surprise for you; lie, and a trapdoor will open up under your feet, plunging you into a piranha tank after you've been hit with three tranquilizer darts and slathered in barbecue sauce!" For once, Eduardo actually seemed impressed. "Ready to play?" Bridgette asked.

"Whatever."

Bridgette grinned as the 'Quizzing Music' began to play. "Eduardo, do you feel threatened by Chris at all, or anyone on the show?"

"No."

Both Geoff and Bridgette flinched, expecting the anvil to hit the teen in the head full force, but the heavy object didn't budge. Geoff continued on with a strange face.

"Are you glad you got kicked out of the game and lost a chance at a cool mil?" Geoff asked.

"No."

The anvil didn't move, and Bridgette continued as Geoff looked up, scratching his head; no one had survived the game this long, not even DJ when he promised to the tell truth for as long as he lived.

"Final question, Eduardo: do you miss your family?" Bridgette asked.

"No."

Bridgette, Geoff, and the peanut gallery (those that were awake anyway) gasped. "How can you not love your family!?" Zoey exclaimed, clearly distressed that someone could even say such a thing.

"Funny. You, Zoey the Lonely, are lecturing me on family. How charming." Eduardo grumbled. Zoey gasped and buried her head into Mike's shoulder. Mike glared at Eduardo, but the EMO kid wasn't done yet. "And you, Mike. Do you honestly believe your parents could possibly love a kid who has an entire family in his head?" Mike opened his mouth to retort a come back, but couldn't find the words. As much as he didn't want to believe Eduardo, there was the nagging thought in the back of his mind. He ignored it and put his attention back to comforting Zoey. "And don't even get me started on Dakota over there." Eduardo grumbled. Geoff made a slicing motion across his throat and Eduardo's words vanished, even though his mouth was still moving. Geoff winced and dug around in his pocket, pulling out a remote with a large red button on it. "Bridge?" he asked quietly, his thumb hovering over the button. Bridgette jerked her head and Geoff thrust his thumb down.

Three darts suddenly shot out from somewhere off stage, striking Eduardo in the neck and arm, sending him out like a like a wave of barbecue sauce was doused on him. A trapdoor opened up under his feet and he plummeted below stage, the sounds of piranha teeth clicking together echoing up out of the hole as the anvil fell from above and sent a wave of water out of the hole. The trapdoor then slid shut and the two teen hosts continued on with the show, trying to ignore the dull chomping sounds beneath their feet. "Uh, well, that happened." Geoff said awkwardly, unsure of what to say.

"Should I save him with a time reversal spell?" Leonard asked. The LARPer had a bandaged wrapped around his head and was sitting next to Ella, who constantly rubbing Dakota's head as she purred like a cat in her sleep. Sam sat on the floor, playing his video game console with the sound off so he wouldn't wake his girlfriend. Geoff shook his head no, and the fake wizard's face fell. "Should we introduce our next guest?" Bridgette whispered, her finger in her ear as she listened to the director. After a few seconds, she returned to face the camera. "So, uh, our next guest plays the violin and is a HUGE PC gamer! Please welcome, Alex!" Bridgette announced. The Korean boy walked on stage with a smile on his face, waving to the audience and giving Geoff a high five before sitting down. He cringed when he saw Dakota's massive bulk sleeping on the other end of the stage but chose to ignore it when Reese gave him a friendly wave.

"So, Alex? I understand you were an adopted child," Bridgette began. "Do you think this had an effect on the way you played the game?" Alex shook his head. "Nah, just some bad luck. Believe me, after my team voted me out for my bad aim, I practiced like a maniac. Same thing happened after I lost my first pro-soccer match." The hosts seemed satisfied with the answer and continued on. "Alex, as you may know, this is our Halloween special. And what's Halloween without some screams?" Geoff asked.

"I dunno. Arbor Day?" Alex guessed.

"It was a rhetorical question, Alex." said Geoff, deadpan.

Two interns then came on stage, each dragging three snarling and growling wolves on leashes attached to red collars with muzzles over their snapping snouts. Alex screamed and dove behind the remains of the sofa, Reese sharing an equal look of fear on his face. "What are those savage beasts doing here!?" Alex shrieked, jabbing a finger at the wild dogs as interns forced them to hold still. Geoff grinned and answered his question. "Because, it's time for a new segment I like to call, 'Face your Scream'!" Alex quaked and shivered as the interns stepped behind the wolves, leaving nothing between him and the savage dogs.

"What do I have to do?" Alex asked nervously as the interns took the muzzles off of the wolves snouts.

"All you have to do is figure out which ones are Toni and Micheal." Bridgette instructed, feeling bad for the boy. She herself had never gotten over her fear of being alone in the forest, no matter what she had said in the confessional in season one. Alex gulped and stepped off the couch, legs shaking as he edged closer to the wolves. The animals starred at him unmatched furry, as if imagining a hundred different ways to tear him limb from limb as they licked their chops. He looked over each one, trying to remember what Toni and Micheal might look like as wolves. Eventually, he settled on two wolves near the back, one black as midnight and the other a seemingly normal one with a regular gray coat. "Those two," he answered, pointing to the two wolves and jumping back when the wolves in the front row snapped at his finger like a tasty morsel.

"Bridge?" Geoff asked. Bridgette opened up a folded piece of paper and quickly read it over before nodding. "Correct, Alex! You guessed right!" she said happily as a red flash lit up the the stage from left. Micheal and Toni stood next to each other, clapping along with the rest of the cast and audience. "How'd you know?" Geoff asked Alex. The boy shrugged. "I dunno. All the other wolves just seemed dumber by comparison. At this, the wolves all roared and growled, foaming at the mouth as they bit away at their leashes; the two interns tried to hold them fast, but the wolves bit through their collars and attacked them without hesitation. The audience began to scream once more, their cries and shrieks outclassed by a much more terrified Alex, who had somehow ended up hanging from one of the spotlight fixtures high above the floor.

Micheal quickly slapped the Animatrix and a red light washed over him, turning him into a large _Pteranodon_. Toni climbed onto his back before he took to the the air and grabbed Geoff and Bridgette by the backs of their costumes with its talons. The Peanut Gallery had all climbed up on top of Dakota's massive bulk, the wolves too wary of Dakota's snarling and growling to edge closer as she slept. With every beat of Micheal's wings, the wolves fur was blown back, revealing darker skin underneath. "Wait a minute! Those wolves are fake!" Reese suddenly exclaimed from under the couch's remains. The Peanut Gallery and host's looked at him as if he had lost his mind, especially when Alex jumped down from the safety of the ceiling and to the ground, walking up to the wolves without fear. The wolves growled and snarled even more as Alex walked closer, backing up until they were cornered against Dakota. Alex quickly reached forward and grabbed hold of one of a wolf's face and pulled, the sound of fabric ripping coming from it. Everyone gave a collective gasp when they saw the animal's face, all cold and hard and metallic.

"Of course, Chris would switch out fake wolves for real ones." Bridgette muttered under her breath as Micheal floated to the ground and set the couple down. "He didn't have any to begin with." Alex gave a satisfied grin as he walked off stage, the two interns getting up from the stage and taking the robo-wolves off stage with them as they limped and groaned.

"Um, this has been fun and all," said Toni from Micheal's back. "But we gotta fly. Chris wanted us back within the the hour. Adios!" Toni exclaimed before Micheal shot straight up and crashed through the ceiling, Micheal giving one last roar before they vanished into the night. Everyone simply starred up at the hole in the ceiling, ignoring the pile of rubble beneath it. "This night just gets weirder and weirder," Geoff said, starstruck.

"And it's about to get weirder, Geoff," said Bridgette with a smile. "Our next guest is so weird, she'll be kicking the Weird o' meter up to thermal nuclear! Our next guest has wrestled with a crocodile-turned-girl and is originally from Transylvania! _Did I read that right?_" Bridgette asked herself quietly. "Please give an absolutely _frightful _welcome for Mortisha!" The audience burst into forced applause as a black figure dropped from the ceiling in a cloud of bats, carrying a gleaming scythe. "I've come for you, Bridgette Camerson and Geoff Hartman." the figure said in a demonic voice, pointing a frail, pale finger at the young couple. Geoff scoffed and chuckled. "You can drop the act, Mortisha. We know it's you."

"Hey, guys! What's up?" Mortisha yelled from the ceiling, hanging upside down from one of the light fixtures, several bats crawling all over her as she waved down at Bridgette and Geoff. "Wait, if you're up there, than who is . . . . . HOLY FREAKIN' MOTHER OF PEARL! IT'S THE GRIM REAPER!" Geoff screamed like a little girl, jumping into Bridgette's arms. Bridgette cocked an eyebrow at her boyfriend's action, but quickly forgot about it when the Grim Reaper pointed his scythe at her face.

"Got ya." he said in a much high voice. The thick, black cloak dropped to the ground to reveal a grinning Alex as the Peanut Gallery laughed and pointed at Geoff's terrified face. Geoff quickly got off of Bridgette's lap and tried to look like nothing happened; it was kind of hard to do when a clip of him jumping into Bridgette's arms was repeating over and over behind him on the slightly repaired monitor. Mortisha jumped down from the ceiling and copied Geoff's actions, mocking him as his face turned red. He quickly made a cutting motion across his throat and the clip stopped playing after a few more runs, freezing on Geoff's terrified face as Alex handed Mortisha her scythe and sat next to Reese on the sofa remains.

"So, Mortisha?" Bridgette asked, trying to get the show back on track. "Is it true that you come from a long line of, and I quote, "creepy and kooky, mysterious spooky" relatives?" Mortisha vigorously nodded, pointing her scythe at Geoff and making him visibly flinch. "Oh, yeah. Definitely. Some of the most scariest and creepiest people in history have been in family, not to mention the strangest!" Mortisha exclaimed. "Take my Uncle Dracula, for instance! Or my Uncle Frankenstein!" Geoff and Bridgette shared a skeptical look, which Mortisha caught. "I'm telling the truth!" she argued. "I'm nothing like Leonard! And I've got the proof to make it solid! Roll the clip!" she yelled to the director.

"Hey, that's my job!" Geoff complained as his terrified face vanished from the monitor to be replaced with a tall and ancient Victorian house in desperate need of a paint job and a landscaping artist; most of the windows were either cracked and broken or boarded up, a large hole big enough for a cow to fit through being in the roof. The camera traveled up to the ancient oak doors and the camera man's hand reached out for the lion headed knocker, which snarled and growled when his hand got too close. The man flinched and opted to knock on the door, a dull, booming thud echoing through the house. The sound of some hideous creature growling in annoyance could be heard, followed by numerous other odd and spine chilling sounds. The door creaked open and a low voice groaned, "You knocked?". The camera man quickly explained in stuttered English he was here for a tour of the house. Before he could even scream, a large, burly, and hairy hand reached out from the darkness and covered the camera, the man's muffled screams filling the air as he was dragged inside the house. The sounds of a light scuffle rocked the camera until it fizzled out, a loud, shrill cackling being the last thing heard before the clip ended.

"Um, okay?" Geoff squeaked, hiding behind his couch's remains with Bridgette. "What happened to the camera man anyway?" he asked, afraid to hear the answer.

"Lets just say he went really well with a side of fries." Mortisha chuckled, using her scythe to whittle away at a broken chair leg from the sofa's broken parts. Bridgette gulped and continued on with a shaky voice. "So, uh, Mortisha? Is it okay if we ask you a few more questions?" Mortisha nodded and brushed aside a lock of her raven black hair, revealing her small scar. "First off, where did you get that scar?" Bridgette asked.

"Ever wrestle a giant squid?"

Bridgette blanked, and Geoff took over. "Why do you and your . . . . family . . . . insist on subject yourself to such horrific stunts?" he asked.

"You want to see something horrific? You try watching an entire episode of _My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic_. See if you survive." Mortisha shot back. "Besides, my pet alligator doesn't want to eat me; biting me and giving me lacerations is just his way of showing me affection!"

"Does Izzy have a twin sister she forgot to tell us about?" Gwen muttered under her breath.

Geoff ignored the comment and continued with the show. "Final question, Mortisha: do you have a crush on _anyone _in the game?" he asked, narrowing his eyes as a confident smile crossed his lips as Mortisha filed her nails with scythe. "Meh. I had a crush on Micheal for a while, but it kind of faded. Besides, he's got Caroline." she said simply without looking up from her work.

"You didn't answer the question." Bridgette pointed out.

"Fine. I like Trey. Deal with it." she snapped at the surfer girl as the audience gave a collective gasp.

"Is this because he shared a beer with you?" Geoff asked.

"Nah. Besides, I stole that from him, just like I stole the belt that's keeping your pants up." she said mischievously. "What do you mean – AHH!" Geoff cried out as he stood up and his black dress pants fell down to reveal his gray underpants. The audience laughed as the Peanut Gallery stifled their giggles and laughter as Mortisha cracked up and fell onto the floor. "Show time's over, babe!" he hissed to Bridgette as he hiked up his pants and ran off stage, not quite keeping his pants up in the back as Mortisha held out his belt for him, which he grabbed on the run. Bridgette's faced turned red as she continued on with the show.

"Well, that's all the time we have for now! Come back to see a brand new surprise thatt'll set the game on fire! On Total! Drama! Pahkitew's Vengeance!" Bridgette exclaimed, signing off as Mortisha cackled and thunder rolled. Eduardo's dim "Whatever." could be heard from below stage as Dakota finally woke up and yawned. "What Dakota miss?" she asked.

"It's a _long _story, Dakota. Trust me on that." Mike told her, rolling his eyes as the lights in the studio faded to black.

**And there's the first Aftermath! How'd I do? I know a lot of you thought I should wait until about half the cast was eliminated, but I just couldn't wait! Besides, can anyone imagine an Aftermath that long?**

**Either way, leave your comments in the reviews below, or PM me your ideas! And see if you can guess what Chris's surprise will be next challenge!**

**That's all for now, so have a Happy Halloween!**

**MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!**


	7. Dunces and Dragons pt 1

**Hello all you losers and maniacs out there! I am back with another chapter! As always, leave your comments and reviews below and PM me your suggestions and requests!**

**We finally find out what Chris's big secret is! How will it affect the cast?**

**Side note: i borrowed the Virtual Reality Machine idea from _The Kobold Necromancer. _Don't sue me!**

"Last time, on Total Drama: Pahkitew's Vengeance: I hypnotized some of the contestants into being giant monsters! And to make things more entertaining, I set the rest of the cast up as bait! After hours and hours of running around like morons in the dark, we've had some hilarious highlights: Dakota made out with Alan, Reese wet his pants to defend himself against an alien predator, and Trey lost his guitar. Again."Chris chuckled as he walked down the dock.

"This show is so hot and steamy, I need to take trip to the North Pole just to cool down! And what I'm about to do will make things so hot, it'll feel like standing next to an active volcano! Hmmm. Not a bad idea for a challenge, actually." Chris said to himself. "Who will kill? Who will die? Who will grief their friends for a chance at the million dollar prize? Find out here! On Total! Drama! Pahkitew's Vengeance!"

_**(theme song plays)**_

"I will get you for this, McLean! Do you here me? I will get you!"

When Monique had sighed up for Total Drama, she had never thought in her wildest dreams that she would be plummeting toward the very hard ground from 20,000 feet up without a parachute. And she never thought that she would be falling towards said ground with three other unlucky contestants who were suffering the same fate. On the bright side, Chris hadn't been too kind to his co-host/cook and had "forgotten" to give him a parachute too. Such was the case when the large, burly hash slinger dressed as a pilot came hurling past her screaming at the top of his lungs and yelling out incoherent things. As her long, black braids billowed in the air above her, Monique took the oddly long moment to take a look at her fellow contestants.

Falling above her and too her left was a black toque and had a messy mop of brown hair. He had brown eyes and a light tan. He wore a white T-shirt with black stripes on the short sleeves, and a black vest along with a pair of denim shorts and muddy sneakers. To her right was an hour glassed girl with a purple colored tank top and skinny jeans. Her pair of black wedge were floating in the air next to her as her black hair and golden hoop earrings waved in the air. A little ways below her was a small boy with pale skin and spiky, blonde hair and bright blue eyes. His green vest and black shirt were flapping in the breeze as he fell. He wore long, baggy, blue jeans and bright red sneakers with the laces loose. As soon as her eyes had passed over all the details of her fellow victims, time seemed to speed up and she was suddenly surrounded by cold water. Monique shivered slightly and instinctively kicked upwards, her head breaking the surface as she gasped for air. Four more heads broke the surface around her, gasping for air, as well as saying inappropriate things about a certain pretty boy on Chef's part. They quickly swam towards the beach and washed ashore, still terrified from their ordeal.

"I swear," Tajira growled as she stood up on shaky legs. "I will make that man pay if it's the last thing I do." She would have said worse things, but was cut short when her eyes caught sight of a large hole in the ground. As she walked closer and found out it wasn't a hole at all, but a large foot print almost as big as her, with three large toes jutting out in a similar fashion to a bird's. Tajira ignored it and walked up the shore towards a clearing, where a middle aged man stood with a cheeky smile on his face stood. She had a bad feeling that the man was the one who had just sent them free falling.

"Chirs, man! What were you thinkin'!?" Chef yelled, walking up to the host and resisting the incredible large urge to punch the him in the face. Chris merely chuckled and patted the large man on the shoulder. "Don't worry. I knew you would make it out just fine." was all the host said as he strolled up to the four teens. "Congrats. You're alive." he said with mock enthusiasm. The teens all glared at him, wanting to feel his scrawny neck between their fingers. The breeze blew across them, causing them all to shiver as the host continued. "And as such, it is time for you to meet your team mates!" he exclaimed, pulling out a walkie talkie. "Show time, suckers!" he called into it.

"Copy that, Manure Face." a voice crackled through, causing the host to frown.

There was a dull boom from somewhere off in the forest, and the ground began to shake and rumble as trees began to topple over and crash to the ground. Paul pulled his toque down over his eyes as Wilson looked on with fear in his. Monique herself was also worried, but Tajira seemed unaffected, socking her fist into her hand as the large thing approached. A loud roar echoed through the forest, followed by a loud shriek of pleasure. Moments after a large flock of birds flew free from the forest's canopy and Paul had wet his pants, a large _Tyrannosaurus Rex _stomped out of the woods, roaring with glee as Maurananei whooped with joy. The dinosaur roared again and jumped into the air, directly over the cast before coming crashing down and skidding to a halt as Maurananei whooped again. The four cast mates stared as the lowered its tail to the ground and Maurananei, along with Anuok and Caroline slid down. The ground began to shake again as a large Asian Elephant came stampeding out of the undergrowth with Kiko, Zelda, Trey, and Mitchell all hanging on for dear life as the animal charged at them and came skidding to a stop, only a measly foot away from crushing Chris, who didn't move in the slightest.

All the new contestants could do was gawk and stare as the suddenly disappeared in a flash of red light to be replaced by a tall boy with short, black hair combed over a side of his face. He wore a dark green undershirt and a pair of ragged jeans with black sneakers. A gleaming shark tooth necklace hung around his neck as he walked over to the contestants with a grin on his face. "Welcome to Pahkitew," he said, grabbing Tajira's hand and giving it a good shake. Faster than anyone could blink, Tajira heaved Micheal off the ground and slammed him on to his back, her face twisted into something of pure rage. "Don't touch me again." she snarled before prying his strong fingers off of her and walking a short distance away.

"I think I'm starting to grow on her." Micheal joked as Caroline rushed to his side, worry on her face. "Trust me, Princess. I've suffered worse." he told her, pecking her on the cheek as she flushed bright red. A thick cast was around her arm where a Lagarbuini had bit her. The pink cast had scribblings on it from several of the contestants in permanent marker, Micheal, Maurananei, Alan, and Zelda among the ones that signed; Anuok and Toni had yet to sign it, with Kiko flat out refusing to.

"That girl has issues." Toni's voice said from behind them, and the new participants all stared at her, as if she had grown a second head. Where a six ton pachyderm once stood was a 125 lb girl with a slight smile on her face. "What about you guys? Feel like flipping the rest of us?" she asked with a slight laugh. Paul and Wilson shook their heads while Monique frowned; clearly, she and Toni were not going to get along.

"Hot! Hot! Hot! Hot! Hot!" Trey cried, holding the seat of his smoking pants. Mitchell was apologizing professedly, trying desperately to put the fire out that was currently burning in Trey's underwear. Micheal switched on the Animatrix, was turned into a hippo and gave chase after Maurananei hopped on his back. Anuok raced after the hot blooded mammals as Trey continued to screech like a harpie. This went on for several minutes until all five of them jumped into the lake with a big splash that drenched everyone but Chris, who was watching the whole thing with a wide grin on his face.

_**Confessional**_

"Is it just me, or has this island gotten weirder since last season?" Paul asked as he squeezed the water out of his soaked toque.

_**End Confessional**_

After a quick toweling off, Chris continued on with the show, just a little irked that the camera wasn't on him (the early morning show lightened his mood a little). "All right then, losers old and new! It's time to get on with our next challenge!" he announced with his infamous smile on his face. All the contestants shared worried looks, all except Tajira who was more irked than Chris was. "What!? You make us free all from a plane without parachutes into a freezing lake _after you blew up said plane_, just so you could make us do a challenge!?" she roared.

"Welcome to Total Drama, dude." said Micheal, earning a threatening glare from Tajira. Needless to say, Tajira would not be getting along well with Micheal for any part of the season. Of course, Chris was more than happy to exploit it. "You got your bets?" he asked Chef quietly. The muscled cook had changed out of his uniform and was now dressed up in standard safari gear, complete with khaki shorts and jacket, as well as a stylish pith helmet. "I'm betting on the girl." he whispered. Chris chuckled lightly. "Seriously? I'm betting on Micheal. Dudes got a watch and not afraid to use it." he said quietly, unaware that the cast had stopped bickering and were all glaring at him. A shoulder nudge from Chef brought him to reality with a slight sheepishly grin on his face. "Any-who, it's time to add the new losers to the old losers and mix things up a bit." Chris said.

"What does that mean?" Alan asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"It means, Alan," Chris said with a barely stifled cackle. "That I will be completely scrambling the teams into new ones! Your enemies just might become your new team mates! Fun, right?" From the looks and rude gestures Chris was earning, the contestants were not having as much fun as Chris was. "Now then, Tajira, Wilson, Zelda, Caroline, Micheal, Alan, and Trey! You will be the new Rampaging Rhinos." Chris announced. "Maurananei, Anuok, Kiko, Paul, Monique, Mitchell, and Toni will henceforth be known as the new Extreme Eagles!"

"WHAT!?" Tajira roared as she stomped over to Chris. "You are not putting me on a team with that-that-that _creature!_" she yelled in Chris's face.

"That _creature_, can hear you!" Micheal yelled. "Seriously, what did I do?" he asked the rest of his new team mates quietly. None of them knew and merely shrugged.

_**Confessional**_

"Okay, I just want to state for the record, that I don't _hate _Micheal," Tajira said with a sigh as she pinched her brow. "I'm sure he's a nice guy and all, but I'm exactly a trust person. I was bullied a lot back home, and that's made me who I am. So . . . . don't judge me, alright?" Tajira growled to the camera, holding up a fist. There came a knocking on the side of the door, earning an annoyed look from Tajira. "Micheal, if that's you, I will tear that fancy watch of yours off your wrist and shove it down your craw after I'm done beating you senseless with it!" she roared. The knocking stopped and the sound of fleeing footsteps could be heard from outside. Tajira then realized that there was still a camera in the outhouse. "Aw, nuts." she cursed under her breath.

_**End Confessional**_

Ooh! _Tension_!" Chris said eagerly. "But save it for the challenge! Today, we will be LARPing!" he exclaimed eagerly, most of the contestants groaning; Paul and Alan however, seemed to at least be slightly happy about it.

"So, what? We're just gonna dress up as elves or whatever and go around shooting dummies all day? Real creative, McLean," Maurananei frowned. "There is no way you're ever going to get me into a costume."

"Yeah, I figured you would say that," Chris smiled. "And that's why we've taken the liberty of purchasing this wicked awesome Virtual Reality Machine!" he announced, turning around to gesture towards a grand stage with a large computer screen and fourteen chairs. Chef, dressed in his usual pink dress and chef hat, gestured towards the screen with a smile on his face, sending shivers down the contestant's spines, though Maurananei swooned at the sight and nearly fell to the ground at it not been for Mitchell. "Welcome, to Dimension of Destruction!" Chris cried. **[1]**

"Wait, isn't it supposed to be World of-" Alan began before Chris rushed over and slapped a hand over his mouth, silencing him. "Ssshhh! We couldn't get the rights!" he hissed. Alan nodded and Chris removed his hand, continuing on with the challenge. "Each team will be hooked up to this advanced machine and transported into a special designed dungeon by yours truly," Chris smiled, gesturing to himself. The contestants rolled their eyes as Chris continued to inflate his ego even further. "You will be facing off against bosses and enemies, personally designed by _moi_. First one to defeat the last boss wins the challenge for their team. The losers will have to vote off a member of their team tonight."

"Do we get to pick what race and class we are in the game?" Paul asked excitedly.

"No! We hand picked them ourselves based on what we've managed to collect about you," he chuckled. "Now, any more questions?"

"Yeah, where did you even get this thing?" asked Zelda. "It's packing some serious technology!"

"Got it from some kid named Joel," Chris replied. "You have ten minutes before the challenge begins!" **[2]**

"Why do we have ten minutes?" Micheal asked.

"I need to moisturize," Chris explained.

"Of course." Micheal sighed.

* * *

><p>"Is it almost done?" Kiko asked.<p>

Zelda ground her teeth and quietly began counting to ten in her head. She knew that Kiko was eager to try out the prototype Animatrix as much as she was wanting to see if her invention worked or not, but the woman was starting to grind her last nerve.

"It depends. Do you have the DNA samples?" Zelda asked, turning around to look up at Kiko from the rock she was sitting on. They were currently still in the cave they had resided in before, and Kiko was sick of it. While they had managed to score a night in the Hangout of Awesomeness for almost every last challenge, she did not like having to walk a mile just to get her clothes, only to find them being searched through by a curious raccoon or bear. Kiko sighed and dug into her pocket, pulling out a snow leopard claw, a piece of _Tyrannosaurus Rex _skin, a deer antler, a trout scale, and a Nisilaha fingernail. Zelda took them all in her hand, not even questioning where Kiko managed to find all of them.

Instead, she returned her attention back to the prototype Animatrix and picked up the deer antler in her hand, setting the rest down on the slab of rock she was using as a work bench. She then waved the antler over the watch and pressed a small button on the side. A violet colored ray of light panned over the antler before disappearing. _"DNA sample collected." _Zelda's own voice came from the watch.

"Just keep gathering samples while I work out the bugs and Planetary Scanner feature," Zelda told Kiko. The adult woman nodded and walked to the mouth of the cave, pausing for a moment and turning back to look at Zelda as she scanned the snow leopard claw. "While your at it, program my own voice into that thing. I want to hear me and only me." she ordered before leaving. Zelda sighed and went back to scanning the samples Kiko had collected for her, wondering why she was putting up with the woman's attitude.

_**Confessional**_

"Yeah, Zelda is pretty useful," said Kiko. "She's smart, clever, and knows how to use a weapon. But now that we're on separate teams, I'll have to keep my eye on her; one sign of betrayal, and she'll out of here faster than a cheetah on a rocket."

_**Change Confessional**_

"So Kiko the Chinese Uber-fan has Zelda the Pink Monger working on a bootleg Animatrix," Wilson hissed in a voice that wasn't his. His kind blue eyes were now dark purple once more, and his kind voice was replaced with one that was cunning and filled with deceit. "Zelda, while naive, is still too smart for me to manipulate to my will. Perhaps if I inflate Kiko's ego a bit, I may get her _and _her Animatrix on my side. And once she's outlived her usefulness, I'll get her to slip up and get her team mates to get her voted off!" Wilson cackled. "Should they get wary, they won't know what hit them!" Wilson cackled once more, before he gave a sudden twitch and blinked, his evil purple eyes now blue.

"Okay, serious. Am I sleep walking?" Wilson wondered, seeming to have no memory of his whereabouts.

_**End Confessional**_

* * *

><p>After the ten minutes it took for Chris to moisturize and apply another coat of his precious hair gel, all fourteen teenagers headed to the stage, seating together in their respective teams down in the chairs. Helmets on the backs of the chairs easily slid down over their heads, applying a sort of smoothing secretion to alleviate the pain. The Virtual Reality Machine gave a low hum as it powered up, Chris giving out last minute instructions as it did.<p>

"Remember! Each team will spawn in their own separate worlds, and the first team to kill the final boss wins! In the event of a draw, we will go by how many team members are still alive. And should you noobs die before then," Chris chuckled at his gamer lingo. "You will be transported back to the very beginning of the dungeon, and you will have to travel back to where you last died. Now, LARP!" he commanded as the large computer gave a final hum, and the contestant minds were transported into the virtual world their sadistic host had set up, knowing full well that they would be experiencing horrors beyond imagination.

* * *

><p>Caroline blinked and looked at her surroundings; she currently set in what appeared to be a musty catacombs of some kind. Dusty moss hung from the ceiling and crept up the walls as aged vines squeezed the life out of the rocks and rubble beneath her feet. The walls were smooth stone, dusted with eons of dirt and sand as she swept a hand over them. She turned around to see six other groggy figures, all of them ranging in size, shape and form. "Guys?" she asked timidly, her voice echoing through the hollow chamber.<p>

"Yeah, it's us." a tall man moaned, rubbing his sore skull. He had a head of flowing black hair that ran down to his shoulders, his ears full of earrings and piercings that shined in the dim light of the tomb, the only light coming from the soft glow of torches that lined the walls. He was muscled, but not incredibly so, just a right blend that made him incredibly handsome. His shoulder pad armor resembled bird wings, the feathers intricately interlocking to form a formidable shield. He wore a blood red robe decorated with feathers, beads, rings of gold, animal bones, and a mountain lion skin that wrapped its clawed paws around his neck. He wore a pair of brown pants with heavy, spiked boots and knee and ankle guards. In his hand he held a long staff slightly taller than him with colorful rings around it, the end of the staff ending in a serpent's open mouth with a crystal jewel between its open maw. Caroline glanced above his head to see a near invisible word hovering there that read 'Micheal – Human, Druid' **[3]**.

The person standing next to him was vastly shorter than him, only coming up to his waist. Clearly a girl, her long back hair was tied into a pony tail that kept the hair out of her dark, brown eyes to reveal a pair of curved horns that grew from her skull. She wore heavy iron shoulder pads that resembled skulls tipped with dark, almost black, raven feathers. She wore a short dress of red and faded gold as she absentmindedly picked dirt out from under her fingernails. She carried no visible weapon, save for the small, razor sharp pickaxe that hung from her black belt; her hands however, were glowing a mysterious and sickly green. Caroline glanced above her head to read 'Tajira – Dwarf, Warlock'. Caroline tried to stifle her laughter.

The next person did not exactly resemble a person at all, unless a giant lion had decided to stand on its hind legs and change its paws into clawed hands. The creature had blood red eyes had a large mane of dark brown fur around its neck, making it seem even darker against its brighter tawny colored coat. It had broad shoulders and well muscled arms and hands tipped with sharped claws. A long tail that flicked back and forth every now and again stuck out behind it between two sturdy legs that bent back and then forward to support the creature's weight. The large lion wore a red and gold colored chest plate and shoulder pads and a black loincloth; Two antelope skulls with the horns missing sat strapped to the shoulder pads. Red and gold colored leg and shin guards decorated its legs with a pair of oddly shaped sandles that fit his paws just perfectly. A large shield with a black rhino on it was strapped to one arm with an exaggerated and oversized battle axe being held in the other. Caroline looked up at the creature's head to read 'Trey – Leodan, Warrior'. **[4]**

The next person was actually even shorter than the Dwarf had been, her brown and blonde streaked hair tied up into a tight bun to keep it out of her bright green eyes, though locks of it framed her smiling face. She wore a pair of seemingly heavy gold and brown gauntlets on her hands with a pair of large gloves with bright green circles on their palms. She wore a dull red top and tight black shorts, leaving her short ankles and feet completely bare. Strapped to her back was some sort of high tech backpack with hoses snaking out of odd places that inhaled and exhaled as they pumped something through them. Strapped to her black leather belt was a single dagger that gleamed in the torch light. Above her head read 'Zelda – Gnome, Monk'.

The next person towered over the gnome, nearly as tall as Trey. He had pale, gray skin that seemed very unhealthy looking; one could actually see the blue and green veins under his skin. He had glowing blue eyes that seemed to be portals to the Underworld itself, nearly hidden under the heavy, iron horned helmet. He had massive shoulder pads decorated with spikes and a broad chest plate that covered his ribcage; one could actually see it, and glimpses of yellowed bones covered with bits of flesh through the separations in the armor. He wore iron hip guards with dark purple cloth and large skin and ankle guards above his exposed, bony feet. Black gauntlets that kept his bony fingers exposed decorated his wrists, and an incredibly large and over exaggerated sword was strapped to his back, blue smoke curling off its sharpened edge. His title card read 'Wilson – Undead, Death Knight'. Caroline could feel shivers go down her spine as she passed over him to look at the last person in her gang.

The last member of her team had pale blue skin and was seemingly bald and devoid of any hair at all. The closest thing to hair were the four tentacles on his chin that made him look like had a beard; each tentacle had two golden braces around it. A purple flame flickered from his skull amongst a pair of short horns as his eyes glowed blue with truth and justice in them. He wore leather and steel shoulder pads on his broad shoulders and golden colored body armor to protect himself. Gold and bronze colored leg and ankle armor covered his lower half, leaving his cloven hooves exposed to the elements. A large gold colored battle hammer was slung over his shoulder and a smooth, reptilian like tail curled out from behind him as Caroline read his name. 'Alan – Draenei, Paladin'.

"You don't look so bad yourself, Caroline," Alan smiled. She glanced down to look at herself, stunned at what she saw. She had light violet skin and a much bigger bust than she had if she had been human. Light green armor covered her unmentionables and nether regions, tough green and brown ankle armor covering her legs and feet. She wore green cupped shoulder armor that framed her small face and gauntlets on her wrists and arms. In her hands she had a strong looking bow seemingly carved out of a tree branch, easily concluded when she saw the leaves sticking out from the ends. A quiver stock full of arrows was strapped to her back, just behind her wavy, blue hair. "What am I?" she asked, hardly believing what she heard was her voice; it was so soft and gentle, yet with a hint of warm power hidden deep within. Micheal gulped, unable to look away from his gorgeous girlfriend, and finally was able to speak.

"Caroline – Night Elf, Hunter." she managed to croak. Caroline's violet face turned a deep shade of red as she smiled sheepishly. "Um, onward?" she asked timidly.

"Onward!" Alan cried gleefully, raising his hammer into the air.

"Onward!" his team mates roared as one, raising their weapons into the air and clashing them together as if they were glasses full of wine at a dinner party. With excitement running through their veins, Alan led the way down the only exit to their room with wonder and joy in his eyes. After they had passed several grime filled tunnels decorated with the bones of the defeated, they entered a large, dank cavern. Sharp stalactites jutted from the ceiling, ocassionally dropping down into the black abyss below with a hollow splash that echoed. A large island rose up from the black depths, easily almost a hundred feet above the inky black water below. Two narrow lanes connected the island to opposite ends of the cave, one of them stretching out before Alan and his team, beckoning them to cross it.

They did cross it, weapons raised and ready to strike at a moments notice, though their moments when Trey and Alan had to pause to let Zelda and a very grumpy Tajira scurry by, lest they be trampled upon. After a short while, they crossed the long stretch of rock and walked onto the wide platform, ready for battle. At first nothing happened. Then a sound came to their ears, a sort of clicking noise. The sound began to echo in the cavern as the sound got louder and louder. The Rhinos quickly rushed to the center of the rocky platform, weapons drawn and ready to strike as almost three dozen creatures scurried up from the depths and onto the island. They were blue in color, dark on the top than on the bottom and were rounded. Caroline quickly identified them as crabs, but they were not like any crabs any of them had ever seen; one large claw was bigger than the other, and its six jointed legs had what looked like yellowish hair on them. Two rows of razor sharp teeth lined its mouth, some of them not even fitting inside the crustaceans maw. Another difference was the fact that they were about the size of Tajira and Zelda, making them glance at each other nervously.

"ALAN BROOOOOOOOOOOKS!" **[5]** Alan roared at the top of his lungs. Before anyone on his team could move, the Draenei Paladin charged forward and brought his hammer down on one of the hungry crabs, crushing its shell flat against the rock and killing the creature. The others, spurred forward by their unofficial leader's courage, gave a battle cry and spread out to attack the crabs with vigor.

Caroline reached back for an arrow and set in her bow, shooting at a crab faster than most people could react. The arrow shot through the air and pierced right through the crab's shell with ease, killing it instantly. A gnashing sound met her pointed ears and she whipped around to shoot three more arrows through three more crabs that had tried to sneak up on her, killing two and injuring one; Caroline put the creature out of its misery by crushing it beneath her boot.

Trey, roaring like the animal he was, swung his giant axe low and took out a whole platoon of the creatures, slicing most of them in half with a mighty swing of his weapon or crushing them under his powerful fists. When dealing with one particularly annoying crab, the Leodan Warrior resorted to wrestling moves, tossing his axe aside to pounce upon the creature and crush it beneath his elbow. The crab was caught under the blow but scurried up his arm and attacked his head, grabbing his ears in its claws. Trey instantly reached up and tore the crab from his head, feeling a numbing pain in his ear as a piece of it came off in the crab's strong grip, a tiny stream of blood tricking down his head. The crab realized it just made a very big mistake as was instantly crushed between Trey's strong fingers, fatality killing it.

Down below her team mate's gazes, Tajira scrambled to fight any crab that got to close. Unfortunately, having short legs meant she got there slower than her much larger team mates did, meaning they often finished off a crab she had selected before she could attack it. Tajira growled and whirled around to face a seemingly enormous crab. She was not normally frightened, but when one saw the world from the eyes of a very short person, you tended to develop new types of fear. She quickly raised her hands in front her face, hoping to shield herself when the crab lunged at her. Suddenly, a fiery orange glow surrounded her hands, smoke curling from them as a ball of fire was thrown straight at the crab. The crustacean easily dodge it, but was now weary as Tajira got a maniacal grin on her face. She quickly raised her hands to the sky and clapped them together, the entire cave lighting up as great balls of fire rained down from the ceiling down towards them. Her team mates glanced up and quickly ducked to the ground, covering their heads as fire rained down on them, incinerating most of the giant crabs. After about 6 seconds, the fire storm ended and the smell of baked crab could be smelled in the air as the Rhinos got from the ground.

"I love the smell of burnt crab in the morning," Alan sighed, taking a deep sniff and smiling. "nice use of your rain of Fire, Tajira."

The Dwarf smiled and bowed as her team mates politely clapped. "Anyone a healer?" Trey asked, pointing towards his bloody ear. "I don't wanna take too much damage before we battle the boss." Caroline nodded and raised her hands to lightly touch his head. A warm, healthy green light filled the cave before dying down, Trey's wound completely healed. Before the Leodan could thank Caroline, the sound of giant wings met their ears, and the Rhinos were once again in their battle stances, ready to face whatever monster came at them.

* * *

><p>"ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? I'M A <strong>BEEP! BEEP! <strong>DWARF!" swore Maurananei. Her team mates of varying species flinched and covered their eyes as Maurananei continued to rant. Her brown colored hair was pulled back into a braided ponytail that kept stray locks out of her magenta eyes, exposing the large scar over her left eye. She wore dark purple, almost black armor that covered her entire upper body and arms. Her shoulder pads were made to look like dragon skulls, their sapphire eyes glowing in the dim light of the dungeon. She had a sword with a golden dragon eye in the hilt. Above her floated the words 'Maurananei – Dwarf, Warrior'.

"At least you're not an Orc," Kiko grumbled. She towered over every single one of her team mates, her head barely grazing the low ceiling of the tomb. She had short, messy, purple hair that drifted over her eyes. Her sickly green skin and her slight under bite made her look slightly dim, but her golden colored eyes showed wisdom, and her pointed ears were full of gold earrings and hoops. She wore massive, rounded shoulder pads with curved spikes jutting out at the highest point and rust colored gauntlets with gold colored designs with a flowing brown and green robe covering the rest of her body. A large belt with a brass buckle was wrapped around her waist, decorated with the skulls of humans and animals that Orcs could easily crush between their massive hands. Strapped to her back was a large staff with an . . . . interesting end; it was a single, massive eye in the clutches of a dragon claw. On either of the eye rose two horns that curved forward and then back, framing the glowing eye. The words 'Kiko – Orc, Warlock' floated over her head.

Paul seemed to be himself, nothing incredibly odd about his appearance. He had long, flowing hair tied back into a short ponytail, a stray lock flying free from his head. He had a furry mustache and short goatee for facial hair and bright brown eyes. He wore a full body armor with three large spikes on his shoulder pads and a pair of large black, metal gloves on his head with a skull on his belt and wrists. A pair of daggers were strapped to his belt, glowing an ominous violet. An iron, spiked helmet with a long, flowing feather on top was carried under his shoulder as he leaned nonchalantly against a wall, waiting for Maurananei's ranting to end. Above his head, the words 'Paul – Human, Rogue' floated.

Next to him stood Anuok, her skin an unhealthy and sickly shade of gray. Her cold eyes glowed green and she quietly moaned, as if she had a horrible stomach ache. Her white hair was hidden beneath a navy blue and gold hood attached to her long robes. Her attire was intricately made with gold colored waves and rays, reaching her feet so that they were framed with ruby red. She wore a gray colored chest plate over her breasts and dark blue and gold colored shoulder guards, gray and gold colored cuffs at her elbows. Her fingers were long claws as she unsteadily shuffled on her bare feet, the words floating above her head reading 'Anuok – Undead, Mage'.

Mitchell, needless to say, was not even close to being human. He looked something like a large eagle. He possessed no wings, his arms instead ending in scaly hands tipped with razor sharp talons. He had the same thing on his feet, making them more anatomically correct for a bird. He had a golden beak with a black tip and was covered from head to talon in dull, red feathers. He wore a heavy black and gold collar around his neck and metal shoulder armor with black and orange spikes. Gauntlets of the same color lined his feathery arms and he wore a leathery loincloth attached to a belt. In one taloned hand he twirled around three flaming rocks as he leaned on his spiked mace with the other, waiting for Maurananei's cursing to end. The words 'Mitchell – Aquilian, Shaman' floated above his head. **[6]**

Toni had violet colored skin and long, flowing blonde hair that fell over her pointed ears and shoulders between her dark green shoulder pads ringed in crow feathers. She wore armor over her bust and a metallic skirt tipped with brown colored spikes, green gauntlets on her wrists. Ankle and shin guards of the same color lined her legs, though she seemed to be bare footed. In her hand she clutched a tall staff, the end shaped like an eagle's claws holding a glowing blue orb of mystical energy. The words above her head read 'Toni – Night Elf, Druid'.

Monique, the last person in the group who was also waiting for Maurananei to shut up, was covered in smooth, light blue skin with glowing blue eyes. A pair of blue, antelope-like horns curved up and back from either side of her forehead, curling over her long, flowing black hair that fell down over her shoulders. Behind her pointed ears, thin tendrils curled down amongst her hair, each one having two golden braces around them. Her feet ended in cloven hooves and a long, thin tail sprouted from the base of her spine. She wore green gloves ringed with gray fur and a similar hunting outfit consisting of a green and red top and a short skirt ringed with fur. Brown hunting boots with golden laces were on her feet and she wore a leather belt with two satchels hanging from it; a large hunting rifle was strapped to her back, and almost two dozen throwing knives strapped to her chest. The words 'Monique – Draenei, Hunter floated above her head. "Yo, Maurananei! Shut the freakin' **BEEP! s**he roared, her voicing echoing through the empty tomb.

Maurananei finally stopped yelling and managed to recompose herself as her team began the slow and silent trek down the slime covered tunnel. The entered the same vast cavern the Rhinos had entered without the Eagle's knowing and marched to the center of the island. Within moments, the monstrous crabs had flowed up and over the edge of the island, their claws clicking and clacking together with rage and hunger.

With a yell, Monique whipped the gun from her back and pulled the trigger, shooting two crabs dead before they even got up over the edge, listening with sick satisfaction as she heard two splashes in the water below. She whipped the gun around again and shot another crab as it jumped at her, using her gun like a baseball bat to whack it away into the dark abyss.

Paul closed his eyes and put his fingers together, silently muttering incoherent words. He suddenly disappeared before everyone's eyes, as if he had never existed in the first place. A crab to Maurananei's left was sudden killed, screeching horribly as its carcass was suddenly hefted into the air and tossed over the side, the same thing happening to three other crabs before Paul slowly appeared, a wicked smile on his face. "And I can do this in the real world, too!" he cried gleefully.

Toni cocked an eyebrow, but let the comment slide as she raised her staff into the air and then slamming it into the ground. A white and purple light washed over her, changing her form into something far more useful. Muscles began to pile on top of every single part of her body as she grew bigger and bigger, until she was nearly as tall as Kiko the Orc. Thick, coarse, brown fur sprouted on every part of her violet body as her fingers were sucked back into her knuckle, leaving only the tips and nails. Toni's nails began to grow, longer and longer until they were nearly six inches long and incredibly sharp. Her face bulged forward into a large muzzle, her flat chewing teeth becoming sharper and more designed for tearing and ripping. Her ears migrated to the top of her head as she was forced to use her arms as extra legs, falling forward onto them as a small tail popped out of her spine, completing the morph.

The crabs shared nervous glances as a now very angry grizzly bear stood over them, drool dripping from its jaws. With a hoarse roar, she rushed forward into the fray, swiping at crabs with her massive paws and sending them over the sizes. She opened her jaws and grabbed a fleeing crab in her teeth, easily biting through the carapace and killing it. Within moments, every last crab was dead and pushed over the edge of the platform, splashing into the brackish water. In another flash of white and purple light, Toni reemerged in her Night Elf form, a satisfied smile on her lips. "I could get used to this Virtual Reality," she smiled, her usual expression of annoyance replacing it before anyone could see. Unbeknownst to anyone in the group, she had been like this for the entire day, clearly miffed by something. Clearly, she was not eager to share.

A hissing sound echoed throughout the cavern, and the Eagles got into battle position as half a dozen sea snakes slithered up and over the island edge. True to their names, each snake had a set of feathery gills and fins on its head as well as a wide paddle on the end of the tails. Each slithering serpent had glowing green eyes and a pair of large fangs that curved down from their mouth. Hissing angrily, the snakes leaped forward, Kiko catching two of them in her mighty fists and crushing one of their skulls with ease. The other snake managed to slip out of the Orc's mighty hands and around her neck, rearing up and sinking its large fangs into the exposed flesh. Kiko roared and tore the serpent from her shoulder, crushing the animal's skull and tossing it over the side as she crushed a third snake under her bare foot.

Anuok, a sickening moan escaping her pale lips, raised her clawed hands and let a ball of swirling, yellow energy form between her finger tips. A particularly large sea snake rose up in front of her, ready to strike her face just as she released her grip on the energy ball and through it at the snake, watching as the energy ball hit the snake in the chest (do snakes even have chests?) and consumed it in a bright flash. Seconds later, the bright light dissipated to reveal a small, brown hunting bird of the falcon species. The raptor hopped forward, cocking its head and screeched as a stray snake dove for it, flapping it s wings to dove the attack. It wheeled about in the air for a few seconds before diving down and grabbing the snake in its talons, jabbing its beak into the snake's brain and killing it. The bird then alighted down on Anuok's shoulder and began to peck at the snake carcass as Anuok gently stroked the bird's feathers.

Maurananei cried out as a serpent dove after her, skillfully waving its long body from side to side to race after her. The Dwarf suddenly tripped over one of Kiko's massive feet, falling to the ground as the snake hissed and rose up, preparing to dive down and strike at her with its sharp fangs. Just before the snake could hit her in the face, Maurananei reached for her sword and swung it wildly, slicing the sea snake's head off and splattering her face with oozing green blood. The dwarf silently cheered herself, falling flat on her back, exhausted.

_**Confessional**_

"I know it's just our minds that do all the work and such, but this Virtual Reality thing leaves you so tired," Maurananei yawned before she suddenly lost consciousness and fell asleep, slumping to the floor of the disgusting outhouse confessional.

_**End Confessional**_

The last snake was quickly taken care of by Mitchell. As the serpent tried to make a quick escape, Mitchell drove his taloned foot down, trapping the snake in his razor sharp claws. He then lifted up his foot and picked the snake up in his hand, raising his other hand unleashing a jet of flame, roasting the sea serpent to a burnt crisp. "Well, that's that." he cawed, dusting off his hands. A low rumbling shook the cavern and the group banded together once more, weapons pointed outwards and ready to strike at a moments notice.

* * *

><p>"Are those . . . . giant bats!?" Zelda screamed, jumping out of the way of the one of the creatures as it swooped low. There were three bats, each of them about as big as a car. They had massive wings and fangs that jutted out from their jaws, blood red eyes filled with hunger. The three monsters landed on the platform, creeping forward by walking on their wings, roaring and snapping their jaws.<p>

Micheal raised his staff and stabbed it into the ground, a red and black colored light washing over and changing his appearance. Scales ran up to his elbows as his fingernails grew longer and curved, forming into eagle-like talons. Brown feathers began to sprout on the rest of his arms and upper body, the feathers turning snow white when they reached his head. His nose and mouth melted together into a hard, horny beak colored yellow. His eyes became gold and sharp, able to see the smallest details from long distances away. A pair of broad and grand wings sprouted from between his shoulder blades, flapping involuntarily as tawny, golden colored fur sprouted from his hips downward. His legs bent backwards, forcing him to fall forward on his bird legs as his feet ground together and became paws. A long lion's tail grew from the base of his spine, completing the transformation.

Micheal screeched and gave his giant wings an experimental flap, taking to the air.

"Duck!" Trey roared, throwing himself to the ground.

"No, it's a Gryphon," Alan corrected him as Caroline yanked him to the ground, Micheal swooping low over their heads and slamming his bulk into the monster bat, tearing at its wings with his talons and claws and sending the squealing animal over the edge and into the abyss below. The Gryphon wheeled in the air and landed back on the platform, cawing as a red and black light surrounded and changed it back into Micheal. "Darn it," he grumbled as he picked up his staff, rolling to the side as a second monster bat swung a giant claw at him.

Zelda frowned and clapped her hands together, the green circles on her palms lighting up and loudly humming until a beam of green energy blasted an advancing bat in the chest. The monster roared and surged forward, opening its jaws to swallow the bite size Dwarf before it. Zelda grabbed her pick axe and jumped into the air as the bat's jaws closed on the spot she had been moments ago. Using her momentum to her advantage, she thrust her pick down into the bat's skull and brain, instantly killing it. She landed on the bat's head and gave it a good kick. "That's for trying to eat me," she growled, jumping off the bat's head and running to join her team in attacking the final monster.

Her team mates had surrounded the creature and were attacking it from all sides, Trey and Wilson slashing at it wings and cutting them to ribbons. Wilson swung his sword and sliced off a wing entirely, the appendage dropping to the ground and covering Tajira entirely. Caroline drew her bow and shot an arrow into the bat's neck, stunning it. Wilson took the opening and swung his sword in a wide arc before thrusting it forward, slicing off the bat's head and stabbing it in the chest. A beam of light suddenly erupted out of the bat's eyes and mouth, blinding the Rhino's as it suddenly exploded into dust.

"Anyone feeling full?" Wilson asked as he shouldered his sword. When the others shook their heads, he shrugged it off and turned at the sudden sound of the island began to shake and rumble, a small circular platform rising out of the center of the island, a cloaked and hooded figure standing on it. The Rhinos raised their weapons as the figure pulled down its hood to reveal a pair of beady black eyes and a mouthful of sharp teeth.

"Fang the Hyrdomancer," Alan breathed, lowering his sword slightly. The mutant shark nodded and opened its jaws, a jet of water rushing out and hitting all of them full force, knocking them down as Fang raised his stubby arms, roaring. Skittering sounds could be heard as more giant crabs crawled up the sides of the island, clacking their claws together as they licked their chops. Alan frowned and brought the handle of his hammer down on a crab that got too close. "You take care of the crabs. Fang's all mine," he growled to his team mates.

_**Confessional**_

"Back home, I always played these MMORP games when ever I was bored. After a while, I kind of got hooked," Alan said sheepishly. "Sometimes, I get a little carried away." he added.

_**Change Confessional**_

"Normally, I'm not one to take orders," Micheal admitted, leaning against the rotting wall of the outhouse confessional. "But, I gotta admire Alan's leadership skills; I may not have liked the guy before, but he's proven he's pretty trust worthy. I'd gladly follow him into any battle!" he finished, saluting the camera, just as the outhouse wall gave a loud creak and fell, Micheal falling through a wide hole in the confessional.

"Stupid outhouse!"

_**End Confessional**_

"ALAN BROOOOOOOOOOOKS!" Alan roared, raising his hammer and charging straight at the amphibious shark without hesitation as his team mates charged at the advancing crabs. The Paladin swung his war hammer in a wide arc and smashed it downward as hard as he could into the ground, sending a tremor that knocked Fang off his feet. Alan raised his hammer, ready to repeat the attack again, only to be hit in the face with a jet a of pressurized water that sent him flying back into a small platoon of scuttling crabs that had attempted to sneak up on him. The crabs were knocked over the side and into the dark abyss, Alan scrambling to his feet before Fang could strike again. The shark grinned maliciously as he clapped his hands together. Twin geysers of water rose up from the abyss below, twisting and arcing through the air as they shot straight at Alan. The Draenei saw the attack coming and swung his mighty hammer, knocking both attacks aside and into two small groups of approaching crabs, totaling them and sending them over the sides.

With another almighty war cry, Alan charged forward, hammer raised as he ran at the shark. With every ounce of strength he had, he slammed it down onto Fang's head, hearing a sickening crunch as cartilage tore. Fang stumbled and fell, but wasn't out of the fight. He staggered to his feet and growled at Alan, showing his sharp teeth.

Just then, three teeth fell out.

Now Fang was angry. Not just angry, furious. Forgetting he had the ability to conjure up more minions or control the massive lake of water, the amphibious shark charged forward, mouth agape as he converged on Alan. Caroline managed to get a break from killing crabs to see the attack and fired three arrows in rapid succession, hitting Fang in the gills. The attack did nothing to stall the shark as he lunged forward and caught Alan in the gut, sinking his fangs into his armor and gut. Alan cried out from the surprise of the attack and fell over, Fang jumping on top of him and snapping his jaws to try and repeatedly bite through Alan's armor. The chest plate, but everyone knew that his health was dropping with every attack; eventually, he would die from either blood loss or shock and he would have to start over. Drawing her bow, Caroline notched three arrows and shot them at Fang, one of them sinking into the hydromancer's eye and the other two pepper his side. Trey growled and raised his axe, tossing it through the air and watching as it sunk into Fang's leg, chopping it clean off before spinning back to him like some sort of boomerang. Fang dropped to the ground, close to death as Alan pushed his carcass of of him.

Breathing heavily, the Draenei Paladin raised his hammer over his head. "Time for you sleep with the fishes, sucker," he growled before swinging his hammer down and fully crushing Fang's head, killing him. The Rhinos cheered and raised their weapons as they gathered around a triumphant Alan as he stood over Fang's dead body. The Paladin smiled before stooping down and reaching inside Fang's jaws, ripping out a handful of teeth. Caroline turned green at the sight. "Why are you doing that?" she asked, barely keeping her lunch down.

"In every MMORPG, you can earn some awesome stuff from bosses. You go back enough times, and you'll eventually get something. It's called farming," Alan explained. "Since Fang didn't drop anything, we'll take his teeth. They've gotta provide us with something other than a cool look." he added, tearing a stray strand of rope from his armor, taking a small dagger from his pocket and stabbing a hole through the teeth. He then strung the rope through the teeth and tied them around his neck, making a necklace out the shark teeth. Micheal reached down and pulled out two teeth, fitting them into the eye sockets of one of the skulls on his uniform. The others proceeded to do the same, Caroline scooping the teeth that had fallen out of Fang's mouth and stabbing them into her shoulder pads.

"Everyone set?" Alan asked, swinging the hammer over his shoulder. One by one, his team mates answered, and the battle party continued on through the dungeon, leaving the giant cavern behind and walking down another long tunnel and entering a box-like room. The room had moss on the floor, odd plants growing out of the green carpet in the low light, reaching for the cobweb covered ceiling. There were no other exits out of the room, and the way they had come quickly sealed up by an old stone door triggered by their presences. "Well that's just great," Tajira growled, stomping her foot in frustration.

Alan sighed and pinched his brow. "Everyone look around for a pressure plate or something." he instructed. The group then spread out across the room, lightly tapping the walls and listening for hollow spaces within the walls.

"You look real good, you know." Micheal whispered to Caroline, her purple face turning red. Micheal always seemed to know just what to say in almost every situation, and always seemed to know how to entertain her, whether he intended to do it or not. Such was the case when he tripped over a rock and fell flat on his face. The rock rumbled and slowly sank into the ground as a large door to everyone's left rumbled open, a wave of hot air escaping into the room. "Nice job." Caroline smiled, helping Micheal to his feet. The happy couple marched after their team into a hot and boiling cavern, a moat of lava encircling a hot island in the middle of the room only accessible by hopping across small rocks in the hot magma. While the team was wary of the excess amount of lava in the room, Alan seemed to be worried about something else.

"What's that smell?" he wondered aloud, sniffing the air.

"Oh, you mean the 10,000 gallons of hot, liquid death?" Tajira asked sarcastically, still irked that she was a Dwarf while the others seemed to have much more intimidating forms.

"No, no. It smells more like . . . brimstone." he explained after sniffing the air carefully.

"How can you possibly tell brimstone from molten death!?"

""Brimstone smells more bacony."

"We're all gonna be bacon if we don't move!" Tajira roared, jumping as the rock beneath her feet was suddenly sucked under the lake of broiling magma. She jumped to another rock, skipping as fast as she could to the larger island in the middle. The sound of giant wings beating came to their ears, and they all instinctively got into the kill circle, weapons pointed out like the quills on an angry porcupine. A great figure about the size of a small whale descended from the heavens, its skin blacker than night as it landed with a loud _crash!_

"Is that ugly thing a dragon or Chef Hatchet?" Wilson wondered.

"What's the difference?" Micheal joked, drawing an angered roar out of the creature. Indeed, the ugly brute of a monster did bear resemblance to the psycho cook. The huge creature had the massive head of Chef attached to a long, serpentine neck that ran out from a heavy body. Four, bent and sturdy legs grew from it, a pair of huge wings sprouting from its mighty back. A long tail sprouted out from the base of the spine, and a small collection of horns on the beast's head formed what looked like a small cook's hat. "Is this weird or freaky?" Trey asked Zelda, bending down to speak to her.

"Both," she answered. "And please don't bend down to speak to me. It somehow feels demeaning."

Trey nodded and drew to his full height, taking the axe off his back and throwing it with all his might, watching as it whirled around the room like a boomerang and sank deeply into Dragon Chef's neck. The might beast roared in anger, reaching up with a claw and tearing the weapon out, ignoring the bloody wound as it opened its maw and unleashed a jet of flame. The Rhino's eyes widened as they jumped aside, barely dodging the attack as they all took a small amount of damage.

"Okay, I know this whole Virtual Reality thing numbs pain, but YEOW!" Micheal yelped. He quickly rolled aside to dodge another jet of flame aimed at him and jumped up, slamming his staff into the ground and changing back into his Gryphon form once more. The mythological beast screeched and surged across the magma rock island swooped under a startled Caroline and taking to the air with the Night Elf on his back. Caroline quickly picked up on what her boyfriend had in mind and notched three arrows, drawing back the string on her bow and letting the arrows fly, watching as they sprouted from Dragon Chef's neck. The beast roared and flapped his wings, swinging his mighty tail and knocking Alan and Trey off their feet, Tajira and Zelda ducking underneath the attack The two little people ran under Dragon Chef, thankful that their small size made them unnoticeable to the monster. With quick timing, Zelda blasted at Dragon Chef's vulnerable underbelly as Tajira drove her pick axe into the area of skin between a claw and toe, causing Dragon Chef to roar in agony.

Wilson raised his sword into the air, commanding its glow to strengthen as he raised his hands into the air and suddenly thrust the weapon down, thrusting it into the rock and watching as a deep crack formed in the crust. The crevice stretched down into the black abyss, seemingly going to straight down to the Underworld. This was quickly proven when a dozen faded souls soared out of the pit, moaning and screaming and rattling their chains as they attacked Dragon Chef, swiftly dodging the swing of his tail and claws and blinding his vision. Up in the air, Caroline was hanging on for dear life as Wilson's attempts to help only made things harder for her and Micheal. With all the new souls in the air, Micheal had to twist and turn more violently to avoid collisions with them and Dragon Chef's wild attempts to swat them away. They were suddenly blown off course by a beat of Dragon Chef's wings and blown out over the broiling pit of lava, Micheal keeping his wings steady as he swiftly avoiding colliding with a lavafall.

And then the worst possible thing happened.

In a flash of red and black light, the mighty Gryphon disappeared and was replaced by a stunned Micheal in midair with a startled Caroline on his back. The two shared a worried look before screaming and plummeting down towards the pit of liquid death, screaming in agony as they were bruned alive and killed, despite the Virtual Reality machine making pain nonexistent.

Alan watched the whole scene as he dodged Chef's lethal jaws, cursing himself for not warning his team mates about mana usage. Should any of them use up too much mana, as all special moves such as transformations used it up when active, they would be rendered defenseless as their mana slowly grew back and forced them to use passive attacks. Unfortunately, it also killed them in Micheal and Caroline's case. Alan knew they would respawn at the beginning of the dungeon, alive and well, but it would take them a while to get back to the lava pit. With two team mates down, the Rhinos had to watch each other's backs carefully.

_**Confessional**_

"Do I blame Alan for my death?" Caroline asked the camera sweetly. "Not at all. Do I regret choosing him as unofficial team leader instead of choosing Micheal? Not in the slightest," she smiled. "We all agreed that Alan was the better leader in this situation, and he promised to lead us to victory. If a few of us die horrible deaths along the way, so be it. That doesn't mean I haven't developed a slight phobia of lava or Chef." she added, shivering at the thought of the psycho cook. It was then that she noticed the hole in the rotting confessional wall, a confused look crossing her face. "What kind of beaver would possibly want to eat this trash heap?" she wondered.

_**End Confessional**_

With a mighty roar, Trey charged Dragon Chef head on, dodging the monster's fiery attacks and jumped at his head, mercilessly clawing his face as he scrambled to get on his head and away from his fiery jaws. Once he had secured himself to Dragon Chef's head, gripping the sides with his ankles and claws, he grabbed hold of the hat-like cluster of horns on his head and yanked back as hard as he could. The behemoth roared in pain and annoyance, spreading his wings and bucking like a wild bronco, causing a miniature earthquake down below as the Rhino's scrambled to dodge his wild dance.

* * *

><p>"Is that who I think it is?" Maurananei asked, breathing heavily from her fight the sea snakes. A dark blue cloaked figure stood before them, his glowing red eyes the only visible part of his face. That and his rows and rows of razor sharp teeth. The finger reached with stubby fingers and yanked the hood off of its head, revealing it to be none other than Fang. Without warning, the amphibious shark clapped his hands together and raised them towards the heavens, a large wave of water rising above him to come crashing down on the island, nearly washing the Eagles into the black abyss.<p>

Paul jumped to his feet and twirled his daggers around his hands at a lightning speed, watching with satisfaction as they began to glow a sickly green. He then quietly chanted a word and rushed forward at what seemed to be the speed of light, clearly too fast for Fang's eyes to track. The Rogue shot forward, zig-zagging this way and that up to the shark, dodging the balls of pressured water that were thrown at him. With a sudden yell, Paul jumped up and jabbed his daggers down, watching them sink deep into Fang's hide. The blow didn't kill the Hydromancer, but it clearly irritated him. The shark tore him loose and threw him back to his team mates, bowling Paul right into Maurananei and Kiko and knocking them down.

Maurananei frowned and raised her pick axe above her head and thrust it down as hard as she could into the ground. The island began to rumble, rocks tumbling loose from the edges and splashing into the black chasm below. A deep crack formed from the point where the pick axe met the ground, growing wider and wider as ran right under Fang, sending him down into the blackness. Maurananei yanked the pick axe free from the ground, and the chasm suddenly closed with a loud _bang _and a sickening crunch as blood spat forth from it. The Eagles winced at the sickening scene, but pushed it aside. "C'mon, men! No telling how far the Rhinos are," she said, swinging her pick axe over her shoulder. Her team mates followed her, ready to leave. That is, until they noticed that one of their members didn't move.

"C'mon, Kiko! Get up!" Toni yelled, giving a swift kick to the Orc's massive bulk. When she didn't move, Toni (with difficulty) rolled the Orc onto her back and put an ear to her chest, her face paling when she didn't hear a certain sound. Cursing, she picked up her staff and pushed past the rest of her team mates without a word, the others following after sharing confused and worried looks. Anuok shambled after Toni as fast as she could until she was limping next to the Druid. With a swirl of her hands, the Undead Mage formed a foggy question mark between her finger tips. Toni glanced up and sighed.

"The sea snakes got her. Apparently one of them bit her, and the venom eventually killed her," she sighed, taking a mental notice of Anuok's new falcon friend as it continued to peck at the carcass of one of the creatures. "And from the look of that corpse on your shoulder, the spines on the fins also injected poison into her blood stream, killing her faster; Paul ramming into her was the final straw, cutting her health to zero." she summed up. Anuok's face fell as she let her hands drop to her sides, the ghostly question mark disapating.

The Eagles eventually entered a small cube like room, the floor covered with a thick carpet of moss and strange glowing plants. Cobwebs hung heavily from the ceiling, stray and very large spiders skittering amongst them, but ignoring the band of heroes. Without another word, Toni walked over to a large rock and pressed her staff down on it, watching as it slowly sunk into the ground. The entrance to the room suddenly closed, and a section of the wall to their left suddenly opened up into a fiery cavern ringed with a moat of lava fed by falls of magma. The Eagles entered the cavern, following their unofficial and irritated leader.

_**Confessional**_

"The person who suggests I like Kiko is getting a skunk bath, got it?" Toni threatened to the camera, ignoring the gaping hole in the outhouse's wall.

_**Change Confessional**_

Anuok glanced at the hole in the outhouse and smiled lightly before taking out her notepad and scribbling something on it. After a couple minutes, she holds it up to the camera, the note reading "Toni is obviously annoyed by something. Clearly, it's not something in the game". Anuok then closed the notepad and suddenly ducked to the floor as a raccoon flew overhead through the hole in the outhouse and out the other side, creating a second hole. A miffed Sasquatchanakwa appeared through the first hole and made a rude (and censored) gesture at the raccoon, giving Anuok a confused look. The mute physic pumped her fist and left the outhouse via the new hole, taking care to hop over the dazed raccoon.

_**End Confessional**_

* * *

><p>"Wow. Those kids must really hate you," Chris smiled as he watched the Rhinos successfully dismember Dragon Chef. The angry cook growled and turned his gaze away from the screen currently showing the Eagles attacking a clone of his Dimensions of Destruction form. With a light chuckle, Chris turned to address the camera. "Well, folks, it looks we've just about run out of time! How will the new cast fare in the days to come? Will the veterans tear them to pieces before then? And what the heck is bugging Toni so much? Find out when we return to, Total! Drama! Pahkitew's Vengeance!"<p>

**Yeah, big surprise! A two parter!**

**Truth be told, I wasn't planning to do this, but I just couldn't off my lazy BEEP! to do anymore work. I really did want to continue on with the chapter, but I feel this might be a good place to pause. Of course, this means I'll have to post the next chapter next month and add ina bonus chapter with that. Consider that my Christmas present to y'all when the time comes. Now then, did you like the new contestants? Let me know what think down in the comments below.**

**Now if you've noticed things like this: [1], then I've taken a small leaf out of _The Kobold Necromancer's _book. I've obvious got some notes on this, and I just did this to avoid confusion within the story.**

**[1] Clearly (at least for all you nerds out there ;) this is a parody of the ever famous and popular World of Warcraft MMORPG. Clearly, I have no creativity of my own.**

**[2] Something else I borrowed from _The Kobold Necromancer._ Joel is _Necromancer's _OC for his incredibly famous and popular Total Drama stories _Total Drama: Comeback _and _Total Drama: Battegrounds_. If you have not read their stories, I highly recommend you read them, especially if you love the old cast and the few contestants who didn't get a lot of time in the spotlight.**

**[3] I actually did a lot of World of Warcraft research to make this as authentic as possible. Obviously (as all you WoW players would know) humans can not be druids. However, seeing as they are the only class that can shape shift _themselves_, it was kind of obvious that Micheal would be the only Human Druid in existence.**

**[4] The Leodan's are a race of humanoid lions based off of the Worgen race from World of Warcraft. Clearly, I have a little creativity left in the tank to come up with such an awful name, yet an awesome race.**

**[5] I stole this idea from _The Kobold Necromancer._ Obviously, I have no imagination of my own. According to him however, Leeroy Jenkins, the most infamous paladin alive, is known from coming back from an AFK break and charging straight into battle shouting his name at the top of his lungs. If you someone like this, at they've got guts. Which you will probably be soon seeing as the countless enemies slice them to ribbons ;)**

**[6] A knock off of the Tauren race from World of Warcraft. Originally, Mitchell was supposed to be some sort of humanoid rhino, but I thought better. Glad I did.**

**Now that's over with, I hope all of you that submitted the new characters are happy with how I portrayed them. THIS DOES MEAN I WILL BE ACCEPTING ANYMORE APPLICATIONS! As of three chapters ago, APPS ARE CLOSED.**

**As you were, ladies and gentleman.**


	8. Dunces and Dragons pt 2

**And here I am again! Back with another chapter for you to read!**

**Now then, I must address a small matter. Two small matters to be exact. First off, I like receiving PMs as much as the next guy, but there is such thing as _too _many. I would like to ask that you not spam with PMing.**

**Second, this website allows a lot of things, but personal information such as address's or phone numbers might be a bit too much. I am not sure if it's against the rules or not (honestly, who has time to read all that?) but I'm pretty sure sending out personal information is not okay. That is why I must ask certain people (I'm not saying who for privacy reasons) to not do such things. I will admit it's a little uncomfortable, but I'm more concerned for the safety of this website, as there are rumors that it might be taken down. I'm not saying they're true, but you never know.**

**Now that that's taken care, lets get on with the story! As always, comment and review below and send me your ideas and opinions.**

**Enjoy!**

"Last time, on Total Drama: Pahkitew's Vengeance!" Chris began with another of his infamous smiles plastered to his face. "I sent the contestants into cyberspace, where they've battled the diabolical forces of Fang the Hydromancer and the evil Dragon Chef! Lives were lost, mana was used, and Toni the Animal Freak got snappy. And, we got four new losers who've entered the fight to win the grand prize! Who will survive? Who will perish? And who will smite all their enemies for a chance at the cool mil? Find out now, on Total! Drama! Pahkitew's Vengeance!"

_**(theme song)**_

Toni growled and rolled to the side, dodging a powerful jet of flame shot straight at her. She was already miffed at losing Kiko to the sea snakes, and she wasn't ready to join her anytime soon. With an enraged yell, she raised her staff and slammed it into the ground, letting the glowing white and purple light wash over her, changing her form into something far more useful. Her small frame shot straight upwards, until she was a good 10 ft tall. Coarse, shaggy brown hair sprouted all over her body as her toes crunched and melted back into her heel. A hard keratin shield covered her heel, splitting into a pair of large, cloven hooves. She felt hundreds of muscles pile themselves on top of her form, especially around her large arms and chest. Her fingers swelled as her veins grew larger, her organs sloshing about inside her as bones ground together and crunched. Her face bulged forward into a box-like muzzle as a pair of large horns curved out from either side of her head. A small tail with a poof of wiry hair on the end sprouted from the base of her spine, finishing the transformation.

Toni the Minotaur glanced over herself, pleased to find that the spell had worked. She wore a large, leather tunic and black chest plate with spiked shoulder pads. Her staff had been turned into a giant axe, and a golden ring had appeared through her nose. With an enraged snort, she heaved her axe above her head and swung with all her might, knocking the flat of the blade against Dragon Chef's large head. The blow stunned the giant behemoth, Paul taking the chance to plunge his daggers into one of the monster's legs. Dragon Chef howled in agony and released another jet of flame down at the tiny annoyances amongst his feet. Paul rolled to the side, a smirk on his face; his daggers, thanks to a short spell and special move, were poisoned, tipped with a basilisk's venom. Sure, the venom would not kill the massive monster before him, but it would definitely slow his attacks and drain his health as the Eagles worked on Dragon Chef.

As Monique shot several rounds at Dragon Chef's face, Anuok took the time to move away to the edge of the battle, her falcon friend landing on her shoulder. Anuok glanced at it, and an idea crossed her mind. She raised a gray hand and focused on her center, feeling a slight burning sensation in her hand as a sparking, orange orb formed in her hand. Her falcon companion got the idea and took to the air, staying within range of Anuok as she tossed the crackling ball at the falcon, and watched as both bird and orb met. There was a bright flash of orange light followed by a loud roar and _crash!_

Once the light died down, Anuok uncovered her eyes to glance up at the result of her spell. A gigantic animal only slightly smaller than Dragon Chef now stood before her. The huge beast looked like a cross between a large rhino and S_tegosaurus_, with a row of large, diamond shaped plates running down his back. Two large horns grew from its box-like snout, and spikes sprouted out from its long tail. With every move of its enormous feet, the ground thundered and shook as its slitted, yellow eyes sparked and crackled with energy. Paul paused to glance up at the huge animal, his eyes widening when Anuok slowly climbed up onto its back. "Where in the name of Chef's cooking did she get a Slam Rhino?" he wondered **[1]**.

With a small urge from its master, the gigantic beast roared and ran forward, ramming its head into Dragon Chef's chest, its horns stained with oozing, red blood as the monster roared in agony. Toni then tackled Dragon Chef to the ground, forcefully breaking its wings easily with her mighty fists. She then grabbed the monsters tail and heaved with all her might, throwing Dragon Chef to the ground with enough force to shake the cave. Anuok then rammed her Slam Rhino in Dragon Chef's exposed belly, the gigantic animal messily tore open Dragon Chef's gut, his organs spilling out onto the hot volcanic ground; Monique then took the opportunity to shoot every single one of the exposed organs with her rifle, shooting what she could see of the heart a good dozen time just to be sure. And yet, Dragon Chef didn't die.

Sure, the gigantic boss was slowly dying, but he was still dangerous, and seemed determined to take out all of them before he perished. With renewed vigor, Dragon Chef climbed to feet, wincing as he felt his organs drag against the rock. He opened his jaws and unleashed another jet of flame, making a point to follow one of the little nuisances and drain them of their health points. Toni, being the biggest of them, took several rounds of fire before she managed to run out of harms way, changing back to her Night Elf form as she got out of range. Dragon Chef then turned his attacks on Anuok and her Slam Rhino, savagely taking the beast head on and sinking his fangs into the beast's leg. The Slam Rhino bellowed and opened its jaws wide, a sudden bolt of lightning shooting out of its mouth and hitting Dragon Chef in the face! The boss roared in agony and went after Anuok, knocking her off the Slam Rhino's back. With the last amount of his strength, Dragon Chef rammed his full bulk into the Slam Rhino's side and shoved it across the volcanic island before shoving it into the lava sea, watching with satisfaction as the animal howled and roared in agony.

Anuok coughed and quickly brought up a finger, aimed it straight at the ailing Slam Rhino, and let a jet of yellow energy fly lose. The spell hit the Slam Rhino in the head and it was engulfed in a bright light, changing back into a falcon before it was killed. The raptor flew up towards the ceiling of the cavern, twisting and turning in the air to avoid an enraged Dragon Chef's attacks as its health slowly built up again.

Anuok, watching the whole scene, frowned and blew a shrill whistle, drawing Dragon Chef's attention and allowing Monique to give him a few more rounds to the face. Anuok could slowly see the life being drained away from him and signaled to Paul to finish the job as Maurananei roared and jammed her pick axe into the area between Dragon Chef's toe and claw, causing the beast to scream in agony. Paul nodded and summoned his daggers, the weapons glowing green with poison as he twirled them around in his fingers. He then gestured for Mitchell to throw him, who gladly did so. The Aquilian picked him up in his talons and aimed at dragon Chef's head, his razor sharp eyes calculating the distance and guaranteeing the attack would be successful as Mitchell threw him as hard as he could. Paul landed on Dragon Chef's back and charged at his head with an almighty yell, dodging a jet of flame that was aimed at him. He jumped and rolled to dodge the flames before clashing his daggers together, a dark red dome forming over him just as another jet of flame met his face. Paul however, did not burn and continued to running up the boss's long neck and jumping at Dragon Chef's face, yelling with rage as he thrust his daggers down and into Dragon Chef's eyes. Paul pushed the weapons in up to the hilt, stabbing the blades into the boss's brain and finally killing him. He suddenly felt more powerful, as if he had just leveled up. Noticing that the corpse of Dragon Chef was falling, he leaped free of the monster, tucking himself into a ball and landing on the ground as the dead boss fell to the ground with a tremendous _crash!_

"Aw, man! Did I miss all the fun!?" a loud, gruff, and strangely feminine voice complained. Everyone turned to the opening to the cavern to see a healthy, and very much alive, Kiko the Orc standing there, an irked look on her face.

"Yes, you did. We defeated the evil Dragon Chef without you!" Paul cried gleefully. Toni snarled and glared at him, jabbing her staff into his gut and causing him to wince. Without another word, Toni turned on her heel and marched towards the other side of the cavern, where an entrance had opened up in the rocky wall.

"Sheesh, what did you do to her?" Mitchell asked Paul as he helped him up. Paul shrugged and turned to Anuok, who seemed just as confused. Monique ignored them and walked after Toni, but not before giving a swift kick to Dragon Chef's carcass.

* * *

><p>"Finally. I thought the ugly brute would never die." Trey frowned, giving a swift kick to Dragon Chef's limp jaw. The others voiced their own opinions before continuing onward, Alan leading the way as usual. However, he didn't exactly seem excited anymore about the game, as he usually was. He was no longer was running ahead of the others, excited to dive headfirst into battle. He no longer wanted to feel that rush of adrenaline he got when he swept through hordes of enemies with ease.<p>

"Dude, you alright?" Trey asked him. Alan nodded and pushed ahead, trying to hide his troubles.

"Alan, seriously, what's wrong?" Zelda asked, running to keep up with the Draenei's pace. He turned to glance back at his team mates, all with worry on their faces and concern in their eyes. Alan sighed and sat down, leaning against the old tomb wall and gesturing for the others to do the same. "I dunno. I guess I just feel guilty."

"About what?" Wilson wondered.

Alan sighed again. "Micheal and Caroline didn't make it out from the last battle. They fell into the lava because I forgot to tell them about mana usage."

Zelda frowned and walked up to Alan before slapping across the face. "Alan, listen to me: it wasn't your fault. We all knew there would be causalities when we signed up for this stupid contest. The odds of all of us making it out of here unscathed is absolutely zero. We all knew the risks, and yet we still signed up for Total Drama," she lectured. "So stop feeling sorry for yourself and get your head in the game! Micheal and Anuok would want you to go on!"

Alan thought it over and knew she was right. There was no use in feeling sorry for himself and dragging his team down. In order to win, he had to keep his head in the game and stop feeling sorry for himself. He had to be strong and vigilant to win this. He then stood up, a stoic and determined look on his face. "She's right; there's no use in feeling sorry. In order to avenge those that have fallen, we must continue onward! For Micheal and Caroline!" he roared, raising his mighty war hammer in the air.

"FOR MICHEAL AND CAROLINE!" the Rhinos roared as they rushed forward as a group. Before joining them in their mad rush, Alan pulled Zelda aside. "Thanks for the speech, Zelda." he smiled. Zelda smiled back and felt her cheeks turn pink.

_**Confessional**_

"A lot of people claim that I like Alan," Zelda began, sitting cross legged in the damaged outhouse. "People think I've been acting jealous of any girl who gets near him after Dakota grabbed him. I am here to say that I will never love that perverted, _endearing, sweet, boy _as long as I live!" Zelda yelled, her cheeks a furious shade of red.

_**Change Confessional**_

"She likes him." Maurananei smirked.

_**Change Confessional**_

"Totally likes him," Wilson smiled. Suddenly, he twitched violently and wheezed, his eyes going from light blue to a dark, evil shade of purple. "And that's not good. This shows getting too lovey-dovey for my tastes," he growled in a deeper, more maniacal sounding voice. "With all these couples pairing up, nobody's gonna wanna vote out anyone else, leaving the people who are still single as torpedo food. I'm gonna have to do something about that," he growled.

_**End Confessional**_

The now pumped up Rhinos ran through the rest of the twisting tunnels of the tomb before coming out into a wide, spacious cavern that opened up to the world outside. Really, the cavern was noting more than a gigantic crater the size of a football stadium with a large crack in the roof that let sunlight flow down through. A chilling wind blew in through the crack, causing the Rhinos to shiver despite their surroundings. As if confused to where it should have been, a large, lush tropical jungle lay out before them, tropical birds of all shapes and colors flying through the canopies.

"So, we just walk on through?" Tajira wondered, just as a large centipede crawled in front of her. Due to her avatar's race, the giant arthropod looked monstrous compared to her. With a shriek, she grabbed her pick axe and chopped the creature in two, killing it. She shot the others a glare when she realized they were staring at her.

"Uh, well, yes. I guess we just walk through." said Alan, pointing towards a clear trail through the jungle. With a spring in his step, he lead the way through the steaming jungle, freshly fallen leaves and ferns crunching underneath his hooves. Giant moths the size of eagles fluttered overhead as beetles the size of dogs scuttled about through the undergrowth. The bug problem got so bad that Tajira and Zelda had to hitch rides on Trey and Alan's shoulders, just to avoid the carnivorous beetles that skittered below in the leaves. Parrots with bizarre feathers perched on branches above the travelers, monkeys the size of pigs screeching and chattering to each other out of sight. Once, a panther the size of a cow and with saber teeth stalked across the path, regarding them before slinking into the shadows, deciding the Rhinos were not worth it **[2]**

"Geez, it's hot!" Wilson whined, wiping sweat from his brow. "And this armor is heavy!"

"Quit complaining. That armor's gonna come in handy sometime soon," Alan said. "I can feel it."

"You know what _I _feel?" Trey asked.

"What?" Tajira asked with a frown.

"Mud. Mud between my toes, mud on my legs, mud on my everything," Trey grumbled. "We just walked into a swamp." The Rhinos glanced around themselves to find that they were knee deep in brackish water dotted with rotting vegetation. Stinking logs covered in vines stuck haphazardly out of the water as a thick cloud of mosquitoes hung over the marsh.

"Oh, come on!" Alan complained, stomping his foot in frustration and only succeeding in splashing him and Zelda.

"Why so upset?" she asked nervously, activating her special gloves.

Alan bit his lip. "Because swamps are home to Hydras!" Alan cried as a massive serpentine head rose from the water in front of them and roared a wet bellow. Zelda immediately fired her gauntlets at the head, blasting the creature in the face and blowing its head clean off. Everyone but Alan relaxed as the smell of burnt reptile filled the air. "I didn't think Hydras were supposed to be so easy." she smiled.

_**Confessional**_

"Why did I say that? I should have known it was gonna happen!" Zelda cried.

_**End Confessional**_

As soon as the words passed over Zelda's lips, she knew she was in for trouble. With a sickening splitting sound, the headless stump of the Hydra's neck split into two new, perfectly formed heads, neither of them looking especially pleased. With twin roars, the heads lunged forward, the Rhinos ducking underneath the stinking water just in time. Tajira and Zelda floated to the surface and quickly made their way towards the many mangrove trees that poked up here and there, opting to attack from above.

"ALAN BROOOOOOOOOOOKS!" Alan roared as he charged forward, swinging his mighty war hammer and knocking one head into the other with a sickening crunch. The left Hydra's jaw hung limply from its mouth, broken, as both heads continued to attack. Another swing of Alan's hammer, and the left head came off entirely, only to have two new heads grow from the stump. With an animalistic roar, Trey leaped forward and swung his axe, cutting off all three heads at the same time and landing on the creature's back. "And that's how its done." he said proudly.

"Not even close, Trey!" Zelda yelled from somewhere over his head. Trey turned behind him to face six new heads and screamed with fright as two of them grabbed him in his jaws and started playing tug o' war with his body. Even though Trey couldn't technically feel pain, his brain did the rest, making him think he was reveling in unbearable agony as the Hydra's teeth sunk into his flesh. There came a sickening slicing sound, and both heads dropped into the water with a splash, Trey swimming for the surface and gasping for breath. He looked to see Wilson, holding his blood stained sword in both hands, charge right at the beast as four new heads grew from the stumps. Twisting and dodging every attack the heads gave to him, he jumped and twisted around in the air, slicing his sword across the Hydra's chest. The monster roared and knocked Wilson with one of its heads as a loud hissing sound filled the air.

With horror written all over his face, Wilson watched as the wound slowly healed itself, the skin melting back together and looking like new within seconds. The Hydra's heads seemed to grin at his horror stricken face. That is, until a combination of Zelda's weapon and Tajira's Warlock powers rained down on it. First, a green blast would blow a head off near the body and then a crackling fire ball would hit the same stump, cauterizing it and preventing more heads from growing back. This went on for a couple more minutes, allowing Alan, Trey, and Wilson to take a breather before the girls ran out of mana.

The boys then gave a simultaneous battle cry and charged forward, the mud sucking at their feet and hooves as they ran forward. The Hydra roared and grabbed Trey and Wilson in two of its mouth, Alan bashing in any head that came too close. With a yell, Alan bashed in another head and raised his hammer to hit another, only to be knocked aside by a stray head. Alan then crashed against a tree and lay there, dazed and soon joined by an injured Trey and Wilson. Tajira and Zelda were still too low on mana to do anything more than kill one head every five minutes. The Hydra hissed with pleasure as it slogged toward its quarry on its two legs, its heads creeping in to finish the job.

"Well, it was a good run while it lasted, huh?" Alan sighed.

"Yeah. I've never had so much fun and experienced so much terror in my life." Wilson smiled.

"You do realize this is just a game, right? We'll just spawn right back at the beginning." said Trey.

"Trey? Don't ruin the moment." Alan sighed as the Hydra heads edged closer and closer.

* * *

><p>Toni frowned and turned to glare at Anuok's pale face. She didn't hold anything against the silent girl, but after what seemed an hour of constant tugging on her sleeves and tapping on her shoulder, Toni was at her wits end. "What?" she growled, her glare deepening. Anuok swirled her hands and formed a glowing question mark between her fingers.<p>

Toni sighed and finely caved in. "Fine. But only you get to know." she hissed. She then quickly turned to the others and told them it was time for a break; the Eagles dropped to the ground like flies, already sweating from the hot jungle air. Toni then pulled Anuok into a thicket and sat down on the ground, rubbing her temples as Anuok put a comforting hand on her back. With a sigh, Toni began.

"As you probably know, I come from a long line of shape-shifters. Unfortunately, not all of them were . . . . good. A few of them actually went kind of berserk and nearly destroyed every major city in Nigeria, Cameroom, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Tanzania, and Madagascar. After the last one, the military's been keeping close tabs on me and my mom." Toni explained.

Anuok raised a hand and conjured up the image of a smiling, middle age man.

"My dad? He left after he found out about my mom's lineage," Toni sighed heavily. "I never got to know him."

The middle age man then disappeared to be replaced by a glowing tank and line of marching men.

"The military? Oh, yeah. Well, after I left the country to be on Total Drama, the military went ballistic. I got a letter saying that they arrested my mom and demand that I return to Nigeria within a week!" said Toni, tears forming in her eyes. "They threatened to kill my mom if I don't return! I don't want to lose my mom!" she cried, full out crying. Anuok bit her lip and held Toni tight as the girl cried on her shoulder, her staff falling to the ground.

Unbeknownst to either of them, a pair of brown eyes were watching them from the safety of the shadows. Paul then suddenly appeared, not daring to show himself to the girls. He wouldn't admit it, but he felt for Toni. He knew what it was like to lose a loved one, or come close to losing a loved one. But having them threatened by the military was a new one for him. Although he wouldn't admit it, he wanted to help Toni, comfort her in her time of need. Knowing that she would most likely beat the crud out of him however, Paul decided to make a hasty retreat, planning on confronting Toni later on.

For the next quarter of an hour, Anuok held Toni tightly, holding her and rubbing her hands on her back to calm her down. She herself had never experienced something like this, though other people often treated her as a freak just because she could see into the future (more than once she had to deal with shady men who wanted to know the lottery numbers). An idea suddenly occurred to her however as she pried Toni lose from her damp shoulder. With skill, she wiggled her fingers and formed the glowing red image of the Animatrix.

"Micheal? I guess he could probably help," Toni sniffed. "I just don't know, though. Will Chris even let me leave to rescue my mom?" Anuok then conjured up the image of a skull and cross bones before socking her fist into her hand. Toni sniffed and smiled, pulling Anuok into a hug. "Thank you." she heaved.

* * *

><p>A couple minutes later, Anuok and Toni reemerged from the bush, the rest of the group well rested and ready to go, though Paul always turned away whenever Toni tried to make eye contact with him. They continued along the jungle trail, Toni using her staff to bush whack their way through the more overgrown parts. The shadows were just starting to grow long in the lush cavern when it happened.<p>

The ground began to shake and quake. The sound of leaves rattling and wood splintering filled the air as birds took off from their perches. The jungle in front of them simply exploded as what looked like a dinosaur-sized spider stomped through the forest. It was covered in thick green hair and black stripes. It had huge mandibles dripping with venom and legs as thick as tree trunks. The spider blinked its giant eyes and regarded the delicious looking tidbits at its feet before giving a screechy bellow and spitting a sticky fluid out of its mouth. The webbing landed on the group, pinning them to the ground with sticky webbing. Maurananei sliced her and her team mates free with a quick movement of her sword and charged straight the giant spider, screaming at the top of her lungs and slicing repeatedly at one of the spider's legs before the giant beast swatted her aside.

Toni gritted her teeth and slammed her staff into the dirt, a white and violet light encasing her and changing her shape. Snow white fur crept up her arms and legs, sprouting on her face and hands, growing longer and shaggier on her shoulders and back. Her hands and feet slowly changed into paws, forcing Toni to fall forward on her new legs. Her nails became larger and sharper, turning into razor sharp claws as white continued to grow all over her. Toni's face bulged forward into a narrow muzzle as her teeth became sharper and turned into canines. Her eyes turned a golden color as a furry tail sprouted from the base of her spine. A long, wet tongue hung limply from her mouth as the transformation was complete. With a long, mournful howl towards the heavens, the white wolf leaped forward and attacked one of the spider's jointed legs, digging her teeth into the flesh and growling. The spider roared in agony and raised up its two front legs, driving them downward and making the Eagles take evasive action.

Mitchell frowned and opened his fist, summoning a swirling ball of red, hot fire between his talons. He then hurled at the spider's head and watched with satisfaction as the spider staggered, losing an eye to the attack. The Aquilian hurled another fire ball at the giant arthropod's head and another towards its thorax, pumping his fist when the hair caught fire. The spider screeched and bent its hind legs to put out the fire on its back, succeeding in both putting out the flames and shaking off Toni.

Anuok narrowed her eyes sent a glowing ball of orange energy at the spider, hitting it square in the face before stabbing her fingers into her lips and giving a shrill whistle. She then raised her hand to the sky and waited for a few seconds before her falcon shot through the tree canopy and landed on her hand. Anuok then raised her finger, growing a green orb on her fingertip before tapping the raptor's head and gently throwing the bird into the air, watching as bright green light encased it and changed it into a bizarre beast that looked like it was created from a small zoo. It had deer-like antlers on its eagle head. Bird legs and talons were stuck on the front end, with a pair of bird wings attached to the large, muscled shoulders. The hind quarters belonged to a strong, black stallion, and it wore a set of silver and blue armor that covered its chest and back. The animal screeched and bent down so that Anuok could climb aboard.

"Hippogryph 1, you're cleared for take off!" Paul joked, rolling to the side as one of the spider's legs came crashing down on the spot he had been moments ago. With a yell, Paul crossed his daggers in front of his face and rushed the giant spider, slashing the glowing green blades through the appendage and managing to slice it off. The spider stumbled and regained its balance, furious as it tried to stomp Paul. Anuok urged her Hippogryph into the air, firing off balls of crackling energy at the gigantic spider as her mount circled above, dodging the many webbing attacks given by the spider.

All the while, Monique was hanging back, having not fired a single shot upon the gigantic arachnid. She had a deep dislike of insects and spiders, so a spider the size of an elephant was where she drew the line. She was quietly filing her nails while leaning against a tree when a frazzled Maurananei landed next to her, having been tossed aside by the spider.

"What the **BEEP! a**re you doing!?" the Dwarf screamed.

"Look, I don't do spiders of any shape or size," Monique frowned.

I don't care! Get you **BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! **head in the game or I'll **BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! **it off!" she roared, charging right back into battle.

_**Confessional**_

"That girl's got issues." Monique frowned, blowing a strand of hair out of her face.

_**Change Confessional**_

"There is no room in this competition for **BEEP! **Lazy people! First chance I get, she's torpedo food." Maurananei cursed.

_**End Confessional**_

Monique fired off her rifle, her frown deepening when she saw purple dots appear on the spider's body that oozed forth blood; the attack wasn't enough to fell the mighty beast, and if she wanted to stay in the game, she had to step it up. She closed her eyes and folded her hands together and quietly singing. She opened her eyes and they were glowing bright pink as she increased the volume of her song. The jungle suddenly went quiet before exploding with the sound of thousands of wings flapping. A cloud of colorful birds of every species could be seen through the canopy, swooping down to attack the giant spider, clawing at its eyes with their talons and beaks, and even releasing their bollows upon the mighty beast. The underbrush rustled and shook as hundreds of animals charged the spider as a group, the monkeys and gorillas using their teeth and mighty strength, the big cats using their sharp claws and fangs, the rhinos and antelopes using their horns. The spider screeched and swatted at the many assailants, killing a few in the process before the animals all fled. The spider looked worse for wear though, missing three more its legs and losing more than half of its eyes. Large patches of hair were ripped free from its body, and one of its fangs was broken, the creature barely able to stand.

The Eagles regrouped, standing as one to face the giant before giving one last attack. Paul yelled a battle cry and threw his daggers, Maurananei following the idea and throwing her sword. Mitchell summoned a giant ball of hot coals in his talons, throwing it at the spider as Kiko roared and pounded her giant fists into the ground, a wide crack appearing and heading towards the spider as Monique fired her gun and Toni let a blast of dark red light fire from her staff. The Piece De Resistance was when Anuok called forth a ball of dark purple energy bigger than a car and threw it at the spider. The attacks all hit the spider at once in a grand finish, the Eagles watching with satisfaction as the spider literally exploded before them.

* * *

><p>The Hydra was edging closer and closer, ignoring the occasional death of one of its heads at the hands of Tajira and Zelda. It was fruitless though; the beast was going to kill and eat the three exhausted warriors before it without trouble, and it would not have to eat for almost another year. It would deal with the two girls long before then, finally earning silence until the next batch of heroes entered its domain.<p>

"See you guys on the other side," Alan said, shaking hands with Trey and Wilson as the Hydra drew its heads back for a final attack. And it would have ended there had it not been for a sudden battle cry from the boys left. The boys turned just in time to see a gigantic _Tyrannosaurus Rex _come stopping out of the jungle and smashing into the Hydra's side. The dinosaur was covered in dark red and black armor, a pair of golden colored reins hanging from a bit between its jaws. On the other end of the bit and on the dinosaur's back was Caroline, firing arrows faster the boy's eyes could comprehend. The pushed the Hydra back through the swamp and into a large tree, the gigantic monster looking more like a porcupine now rather than a multi-headed monster. The opened its jaws wide and bit sunk its teeth into half a dozen of the Hydra's necks, biting them off and watching as a flaming arrow struck every wound. Like liquid steel, as if they had been doing this thing for years, Micheal and Caroline dismembered the Hydra, Micheal ripping and tearing off Hydra heads as Caroline prevented them from growing back. Soon, they were down to a single head. Micheal opened his jaws wide as Caroline drew a final arrow, waiting for the attack to happen.

A sudden blast of green light blasted the final head to a crisp, and a last ball of fire cauterized the wound, killing Hydra for good. Caroline and her mount turned to see Tajira and Zelda drop out of the tree tops overhead and walk over to the boys, Caroline jumping down from Micheal's and following the short girls with Micheal stomping right behind her.

"Are you okay?" Caroline asked. The boys only nodded as Micheal knelt down close to the ground. Caroline beckoned for the others to follow her as she climbed aboard the massive carnivore, giving lifts to Zelda and Tajira, who was looking miffed about being a Dwarf. The boys followed after a few minutes, also needing boosts to climb on Micheal's back before Caroline up near the head. The then stood up to its full height and walked off into the North side of the jungle; he could smell a fresh draft of air coming from another opening in the cavern from there.

"So, Tajira? Mind if I ask you something?" Caroline asked after what seemed to be a few hours of traveling.

Tajira cocked an eyebrow but slowly nodded.

"Why do you hate Micheal so much? He's been nothing but nice to you since you got here, and yet you insist on treating him like dirt." Caroline asked.

"Is this you or Micheal talking?" asked Tajira.

"How did you-"

"I watched the show before I was thrown into this death trap. And what me and the others saw before we started this stupid challenge proves that it's all real." Tajira answered. "And to answer you're question, I've been bullied a lot in high school. A lot of the popular looking kids used to pick on me because I was too skinny," she answered. "I nearly got expelled from my old school for trying to kill one of them. Then my family moved to Saskatchewan and my mom gave me a make over; kind of wiped my memory. But that only seemed to make things worse, guys treating me as a slut and thinking that I'd practically do anything with them."

"And Micheal just happened to look like one those people?" Caroline asked.

"Yeah. Always friendly at first, and then nasty than Heather's attitude the next." Tajira replied. Micheal gave a reassuring growl that Tajira could feel reverberating through her entire body. The Dwarf looked to the Night Elf for a translation.

"He says that he protects people, not hurt them. Besides he's already in a relationship with me," Caroline said with a small smile. "Also, we're here."

"Where exactly is here?" Tajira asked as the lowered its tail to the ground and tilted back slightly, causing the entire team to slide down his back and tail, just before he was engulfed in a red and black light. Micheal soon emerged and cracked his back with a groan, bending over to then pick up his staff. "Geez, you guys weigh a ton." he grumbled.

The Rhinos ignored him as they glanced at the landscape around them, a bleak, frozen wasteland covered in endless snow and ice. A trail carved through its way through the snow banks, leading to a pointed mountain with a cavernous mouth in the bottom. A dark power seemed to radiate from the mountain, dark storm clouds swirling overhead and blocking out the sun as a blizzard suddenly began to form around them. "Alan, do you know where we are?" Trey asked.

"Offhand, I'd say a frozen tundra," the Draenei replied. "If you want specifics, I think somewhere close to the Lich King."

"Lich King?" Wilson wondered.

Alan turned to face him with a grim expression. "The Big Cheese. The Big Baddie. The Bossman. He's the last and final boss, and the toughest one we'll ever face," Alan replied. "And something tells me that if we perish here, we won't be respawning."

"What makes you say that?" Micheal asked.

"That sign over there that says 'Die once, you'll stay dead'." Alan said, pointing to their right with his hammer at a rotting wooden sign barely visible above the snow. There came a sudden gust of wind, low groaning amongst impossibly loud cracking and splintering filling the air as the very ground, air, and world shook! Towering snow drifts were reduced to grains of snow within seconds as the tremor continued on without relenting. The Rhinos crouched down to the ground, covering their heads and tucking their weapons underneath them until the quaking stopped and the air became still once more.

"What was that?" Caroline whimpered, fearing the worst.

Alan stood up from the ground and turned to stand tall and mighty, facing the looming mountain as the ground began to shake again, if only lighter than before. The wind howled at his face, blowing back strands of midnight black hair as he stood tall and proud, his team rising up behind him with fear and determination across their faces.

"Wyverngosa." Alan whispered, with fear in his voice for the first time. **[3]**

* * *

><p>"Why is it so cold?" Toni shivered in the cold wind. The Eagles had left the steamy jungle behind, thankful to be rid of anymore giant arachnids and monsters for the moment. The only problem was that they left behind deadly heat for deadly cold, their clothes barely keeping them warm. Toni's outfit however was more than revealing and left little for the imagination to cover, making her exceptionally cold. The game, being as realistic as possible, began to reduce her health points one by one as she felt herself become colder and weaker. She gripped her staff tightly and paused, crouching to the ground and hugging herself tightly in the hopes of warming up. She could literally see the frost slowly crawling across her fingers, as if it were slowly consuming her, digesting her until she was gone forever.<p>

She then suddenly felt a small weight on her shoulders. It felt surprisingly good against her bare, lavender colored skin, and she turned to see a heavy fur coat hanging over her back. Paul stood there with a small smile on his face as he cleaned his bloody daggers in the white snow, the sight making Toni flinch a little. "Paul, where did you find this coat?" she asked nervously.

"Frozen Mammoth carcass a little ways over there. Poor thing was secured on a dozen icicles," Paul told her as Toni sighed with relief. While she herself would not hesitate to kill an animal for food, she didn't exactly like killing an animal just for clothing or jewelery; an already dead animal was fine however, though the cause of death was a bit unsettling.

"That means we're getting close," Paul sighed, pulling Toni to her feet and pulling her towards him to share some of his body heat. Despite being in a revealing outfit, Toni greatly appreciated the kind gesture.

_**Confessional**_

"I'm pretty sure Paul has a crush on me," Toni began. "I wasn't exactly looking for a boyfriend to begin with, but he could come in handy when the vote comes," she said. "Besides, he's been so nice to me since he got here. I guess I kinda like him too . . . . but would he seriously still like me with my transformation abilities?" she wondered.

_**Change Confessional**_

"Ahh, Toni. Soon, she will be mine." Paul sighed heavenly, sitting back and daydreaming before falling out of the broken confessional. "Someone needs to fix this!" Paul called from outside.

_**End Confessional**_

"Getting close to what?" Toni asked.

"The Final Boss: The Lich King," Paul told her. "Seeing as most of the enemies are based off of Total Drama however, it's safe to say that this one will be modeled after Chris. Thus, he shall be called The Chris King!" Paul joked, Toni cracking a smile. **[4] **The bonding between them was short lived as the ground suddenly began to shake and rumble violently, as if the whole world wear being split in half by a monster earthquake. The Eagles dove to the ground, covering their heads as the tremor continued on, getting more and more violent until it stopped altogether. For a while, complete silence filled the world before a faraway bellow that sounded like Hell itself came from somewhere off in the distance.

"Oh, we are so screwed." Paul whimpered when he heard it. Kiko grunted and pressed onwards, wading through the deep snow and creating a passable trail for her team mates to follow behind in, making traveling easier. The Orc did not tire as she pressed one, only pausing every now and then to melt the snow in front of her with a Fire Storm when it piled up too high for her to move. After what seemed forever, the Eagles finally arrived at the mountain, the earthen structure towering over them as the sky began to darken and snow began to fall, quickly turning into a raging blizzard as the Eagles made a quick escape inside the mountain.

* * *

><p>The Rhinos traveled through the dark tunnel of the mountain in silence, the only sound being the constant dripping of melting ice. The entire cave system was coated in a thick layer of ice from what seemed like hundreds of years of freezing temperatures, and the Rhinos would be constantly slipping and sliding all over the place. Alan was the most frequent victim of these accidents, as hooves generally didn't grip very well on slippery surfaces.<p>

"So, Alan. Mind telling the rest of us what the heck is a Wyverngosa?" Tajira grumbled, using the small pick axe in her belt to safely walk down the tunnel while the others slid and slipped. Micheal holding tightly to his staff, thanking the Chris for at least considering giving him spiked boots to grip the ice with. Caroline hung onto him, using him as a support as Trey used his claws and Wilson used his sword to steady himself. Zelda seemed to be unaffected by the ice and walked along at a normal pace.

"Wyverngosa isn't a 'what'. It's a 'who'." Alan answered cryptically. After he said that, any other attempts to talk to him about the Lich King and Wyverngosa were fruitless and usually resulted in the others feeling very silly about themselves. After many twists and turns in the dark passages and tunnels, they finally stepped back out into daylight, to find themselves surrounded by sheer rock walls on all sides. The sky seemed to be impossibly out of reach as the jagged, snow covered rocks forced it up in the air. The Rhinos walked forward into the wide arena, making it just to the middle before a space between the rock and the snow about twelve feet wide broke away like glass and tumbled into the abyss below. The other members of the Rhinos were now tense and nervous, but Alan ignored the tension in the air and instead focused his attention on a large throne at the opposite end of the arena. And what was sitting on the icicle encrusted throne made everyone's blood run cold.

A large, burly, muscled figure sat atop the throne, covered from to toe in ice covered armor decorated with metallic and bony skulls that sprouted spikes from their foreheads and jaws. The armor hide every part of the person's body, except for his mouth, eyes, and knuckles. One of his hands was gripped tightly around a gigantic sword, a horned skull with swirling blue eyes on the hilt as wispy trails of black hair escaped from the man's helmet, blowing in the breeze.

"Christophus," Alan whispered. **[5]**

As if Alan had just said a magic word, the giant man slowly began to move. The dark space with eyes would have been suddenly burst into blue colored flame, seeming to rejuvenate him as he slowly and dramatically rose from his throne, still clutching his sword tightly in his right hand as he hefted himself up from the throne. He drew to his full height, towering over the heroes with ease as he slowly walked forward. The Rhinos trembled as he walked right into the center of the arena and stopped, sliding his sword into his scrabbler with silence.

"Who dares disturb the Chris King?" he rasped after what seemed eons. Alan gulped and stepped forward, drawing his war hammer and holding it, ready to strike.

"We are the Rampaging Rhinos, a band of heroes from many distant lands that have joined forces to defeat you, for truth and justice!" Alan yelled, his voice echoing off the empty walls. "As well as a chance to win a million dollars." he added sheepishly.

The Chris King seemed to consider this, keeping silent for a while before speaking. "You speak of justice? Of cowardice? I will show you the justice of the grave . . . . and the true meaning of fear." he hissed, a sound that sent shivers down everyone's spine and embedding itself forever into their nightmare's.

"Let this be your first lesson. I have no love for you or your people. On the contrary, I intend to scour humanity from this planet, and make no mistake: I have the power to do it." he added with indescribable hatred and evil in his voice, as the Rhinos, even Alan, shivered in fear. "I'll-i'll . . . . we'll stop you!" Alan shouted back, jabbing his war hammer at the villain to make his point.

The Chris King merely chuckled as he slowly took of his helmet to reveal Chris's, war torn and beaten face, his flesh seeming to barely cover his bones. His gums had nearly rotted away, exposing white bone underneath them and make his eyes black pits with burning blue coals at their center. "You? Defeat me? You and what army?" he chuckled darkly.

"Me and my friends will stop you!" Alan repeated.

The Chris King chuckled again, bring a hand up and snapping a finger; the movement seemed impossible for someone that was centuries old and seemed incapable of quick gestures as the ground trembled slightly. Slowly, the ground behind the villain shook, snow shaking as thousands of figures emerged from the white powder, grunting and growling as they hauled themselves up, obeying their master. The army of skeletons was dressed in standard armor, be it leather, iron, or some magic element as they wielded everything from swords and knives to axes and staffs. Blue fire glowed in the skulls and rib cages, giving them life as they stared hungrily at the Rhinos without fear.

"Is that all you've got?" Wilson suddenly laughed. He instantly regretted saying so as the Chris King grinned a gum less grin and let out a tuneless whistle. If the previous quakes were big, this one was enormous as the entire mountain shivered and rumbled as a gigantic being began to move down below in the darkness. Without warning, a gigantic clawed foot about half as big as the entire army of skeletons appeared over the lip of the icy arena, a second one appearing next to it. The limbs slowly pulled upwards as a low growling could be heard. Two large spikes attached to even bigger, bony appendages that seemed impossibly wide. And then, the head appeared. It was a gigantic skull, much like that of a lizard or crocodile and lined with hundreds of teeth. Blue fire glowed in its eyes and rib cage as the skeletal dragon pulled its entire body up and into the arena, letting out a loud roar before settling down, setting its eyes on the terrified travelers.

"That," Alan sighed. "would be Wyverngosa."

"Your heart," the Chris King hissed as he slowly drew out his sword and pointed it at the band of heroes. "its incessant beating disgusts me. I will silence it, as I did my own."

"I always knew Chris didn't have a heart." Micheal muttered under his breath, drawing nervous laughs from the rest of his team mates.

"ATTACK!" the Chris King roared, thrusting his sword forward.

"ALAN BROOOOOOOOOOOKS!" Alan cried out as both sides rushed forward into a serious battle to the death, in which good or evil would win, and the other would perish and be exterminated for eternity. Both Alan and the Chris King's weapons clashed and blew sparks as they engaged in battle, Alan taking wild and unpredictable swings at the villain as he easily sidestepped and dodged every attack, thrusting and jabbing in with his frozen blade, only to be blocked by Alan's reflexes. The Draenei was breathing heavily from the sudden bursts, only managing to strike a blow against the Chris King's head without effect.

"Any chance you want to take a breather?" Alan sweated.

"No." the Chris King growled, swinging his sword in a wide arc, Alan bending backwards to dodge the attack. While he was distracted, the Chris King kicked him in the gut, sending him to the ground and sliding away with another swift kick. He was suddenly attack from his right, bombarded by balls of fire raining down from the sky. Tajira was surrounded by the chard remains of fallen skeleton warriors as she called upon the hot coals that burned in her hands. The Chris King used his sword like a baseball bat to hit a hot fire ball back at her, the Dwarf barely dodging it by ducking to the ground.

Meanwhile, Micheal, Caroline, and Wilson wee facing off against Wyverngosa. However, the trio seemed more akin to running around in a frantic style rather than fighting the skeletal dragon. After a few rounds of barely dodging swipes of the dragon's claws and the jets of flame, Micheal had had enough. With an angry glare, he focused his attention on Wyverngosa and slammed his staff into the ground, letting the red and black light wash over him and work its magic.

His skin began to ebb away slowly, as if a flesh eating bacteria was eating away at him. His muscles began to disappear and vanish, leaving out bare tendons and strands of muscles connecting his limbs. His exposed skull ground and shifted, bulging out forward into a pointed muzzle as his teeth became curved and sharp, curved horns growing out from his skull and back. Spikes jutted out from his bare, blood-stained spine, as a long, skeletal tail sprouted from his tailbone. His bony fingers grew into long, curved claws as his feet became lizard like. The most dramatic change however, was when his growing arm bones suddenly split in half, rolling back onto the back of his shoulders. His fingers grew longer and longer until they spread out larger than Micheal was. A fiery orange fire formed in his gigantic rib cage and skull as he suddenly exploded in size, growing to the size of a small whale. The transformation was complete as a fiery version of Wyverngosa let out a loud roar, releasing a jet of fiery hot flame as he did so.

_Hop on,_ said Micheal, Caroline being the only one who could understand him. She grabbed hold of Wilson's sleeve and dragged him over to a waiting Micheal, climbing up his rib cage to get onto his back. Once they were safely on, Micheal roared and flapped his skeletal wings and taking to the skies to do battle with Wyverngosa, a master show down of fire and ice.

Zelda was blasting away at skeleton warriors with her gauntlets, Trey taking out droves of them with wide sweeps of his gigantic battle axe. A particularly large warrior rushed forward, brandishing a club as he charged at Trey. The Leodan growled and dropped to the ground, kicking the soldiers bony legs out from underneath him and whacking him with the flat side of his blade, upsetting his bones into a pile before ducking to dodge the flaming arrows of skeletal archers. Zelda quickly took them out with several blasts of her gauntlets But no matter how many times they fell, more always took their place.

"Where are they all coming from!?" Zelda cried out in frustration, just as Alan landed next to her with a groan.

"The Chris King; he brings them back to life as soon as they fall." he moaned.

"So if we take out the Chris King . . ." Trey started.

"We take out his army!" Zelda finished.

"Exactly." Alan moaned, his face falling into the snow.

* * *

><p>The Extreme Eagles were facing a similar problem. In fact, it was so similar, it wasn't even funny, as no one was really laughing for fear of being killed right then and there by the Chris King. As if given a hidden signal, the Eagles charged forward as the Chris King and his troops rushed forward, Wyverngosa taking to the skies to wreck havoc from above.<p>

Despite being the unofficial leader of the rag tag team of heroes, it was Mitchell was going toe to toe with the Chris King himself. The Aquilian screeched and thrust his talons forward, unleashing a wave of fire at the villain, hitting him full in the chest. The Chris King was sent to the ground, bouncing and rolling and a little ways before slowly climbing to his feet, furious. Being a master of Death and Frost, the Chris King's only weakness was Fire, and Mitchell knew this.

_**Confessional**_

"It's kind of obvious when you think about." said Mitchell.

_**End Confessional**_

As Mitchell and the Chris King engaged in battle, Toni and Paul were tackling Wyverngosa. A lucky shot from Monique's gun had downed the dragon moments after it had taken to the air, blasting through its wing bones and making flying difficult. That didn't mean however, that the bone dragon was any less dangerous. With a roar, Wyverngosa swept its tail across the arena, kicking up snow and sending unlucky skeletal warriors flying as it madly chased the Night Elf and Human around and around. Paul suddenly twisted left, catching the dragon's attention. Without stopping, he dove under the dragon and paused right in front of its foreleg, taunting it. Without thinking, Wyverngosa rushed its jaws forward, only to clamp down hard on its leg as Paul dove out the way.

There was a splintering sound as the dragon bit its own leg in half, and the mighty bellowed in anger and pain. Now slightly less dangerous, Wyverngosa opened its jaws and released a wave of freezing fire, Toni and Paul taking cover behind a platoon of unlucky skeletal barbarians as the fire struck them and froze them in a sheet of ice where they stood.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, a very, seriously ticked Chris was berating not only the lowly interns under his control, but the two Total Drama veterans he had brought back to make the challenge more interesting.<p>

"Ugh! You guys are taking too long!" Chris griped as he watched the contestant's avatars battle his Virtual Reality self. "What do you think I'm paying you for!?" he yelled.

"You aren't paying us at all, Chris." Harold grumbled as his fingers clacked away at the keyboard. His partner, dressed in a green wizard's robe and fake beard, didn't seem to hear either of them as he called out spells while the Chris King was pounding the contestants.

"Either way, speed it up! It's a half hour show for crying out loud!" Chris shouted before living to stew elsewhere. Harold took a pause from controlling the Chris King to glance at Leonard, who actually seemed to notice the world around him for once ever since he had returned to the island to control the Rampaing Rhino's Chris King.

"When did it ever come to this, Leonard?" Harold sighed.

"According to my wizardly powers, ever since we joined Total Drama." Leonard smirked before returning to the computer screen, still calling out spells and attacks as he commanded them.

"True that, homie." Harold smiled before doing the same.

* * *

><p>After what seemed hours of fighting, the Rhinos were not getting anywhere. Tajira and Alan only seemed to just barely match the Chris King in their battle; Micheal, Wilson, and Caroline were succeeding in distracting and matching Wyverngosa blow for blow; Trey and Zelda were only holding back the massive skeletal army, all of them running out of mana as the war raged on. It was only when they regrouped, surrounded from every possible angle imaginable did they strike a plan. With Wyverngosa covering the skies, and the Chris King with his army surrounding them from all sides, it seemed the odds of surviving were slim to none. That is, until an idea crossed through Alan's mind.<p>

"Everyone! Switch opponents!" he roared, charging right at Wyverngosa as she landed and succeeding in swiping the dragon's forelegs out from under her, her head thundering against the ice when it dropped to the ground. Renewed with confidence, the Rhinos picked up on the idea and switched opponents; Micheal, Wilson, and Caroline tackling the army; Trey and Zelda nervously attacking the Chris King; Tajira joining Alan in his battle against the skeletal dragon. And slowly but surely, the Rhino's began to gain ground.

With his combined size, strength, and hot fire abilities, Micheal was slowly carving a way through the skeletal army, picking therm off faster than the Chris King could regenerate them. From the safety of his spine, Caroline shot any stranglers Micheal or Wilson missed, a single shot to the skull or numerous shots to the rib cage usually silencing the skeletons. With a ferocious bellow, Micheal bent his neck down so that it was even with the army, sucking in a huge breath with his invisible lungs and unleashing a wave of hot fire that tore through the troops with ease. Wilson was a whirlwind as he hacked and slashed through the enemy, easily defeating them with his black aura covered sword. Caroline noticed an odd thing; as Wilson cut through the army, a few of the recently killed skeletons would slowly rise up, glowing with purple auras inside of them, instead of fiery blue, and attack their comrades. Caroline cracked a smile at this, shooting a skeleton that came up behind in the face before it could assassinate her with a knife.

Going toe to toe with Wyverngosa, Tajira and Alan were able to slowly slow the beast down, Alan taking off a section of its tail with a swing of his mighty hammer, and Tajira managing to burn through the dragon's right wing. Now grounded, the dragon was reduced to using its fire and claws. With a roar, the dragon lunged forward at Tajira, the Dwarf jumping out of the way just in time as the monster's jaws clamped shut. Alan suddenly jumped up onto the beast's back, running up the vertebrae until he was on the dragon's skull. With a mighty war cry, the Draenei swung his powerful hammer down, driving the mallet into the bony skull of the beast, and watching with satisfaction as cracks began to form in the bone. The cracks widened and grew bigger and bigger, the dragon roaring in agony as its skull suddenly exploded into a blue fireball, the beast's cries of pain echoing through the arena.

With their Wyverngosa defeated, the Rhino's began to gain the upper hand, Alan and Tajira rushing to join a struggling Trey and Zelda as Micheal, Wilson, and Caroline continued their assault on the undead army. With a low growl, Trey blocked a swipe of the Chris King's sword, side stepping out of the way as the villain swung his sword down to cut him in half as Zelda blasted him in the head from the side. The Chris King would have attacked back, had he not been attacked from behind by the combined forces of Alan and Tajira, both striking their weapons against the villain's skull and smirking with satisfaction when they felt a small amount of health points drop.

Trey gave an animistic roar before tackling the Chris King head on, driving his head into the evildoer's gut and throwing him to the ground and managing to cut through his right arm guard with his claws and give him a black eye. The victory was short lived however was Trey felt a slight tingling feeling in his chest, looking down to see the Chris King's sword piercing through his chest. Once again, the attack didn't hurt, the programming only making a tingling sensation to signal he had been attacked. Trey began to feel his energy drain away from him as ice crystal formed at the part where the sword cut through his armor, crawling up his clothing and skin at a quick pace to cover him and make him an ice sculpture within seconds. With a dark chuckle, the Chris King crawled to his feet and stood over the frozen form of Trey as the entire battle paused to watch.

"One by one," he chuckled. "You will all be defeated." he said, smashing the statue of Trey into hundreds of pieces.

* * *

><p>Outside of the game, there was a loud hissing sound as Trey was released from the Virtual Reality Machine's hold, his eyes and senses taking a few seconds to adjust back to the real world. With a yawn and quick stretch session, Trey glanced around to see Monique and a miffed Kiko sitting on a row of bleachers facing the stage. Trey walked over to them and sat down to stare up at two gigantic screens positioned above the stage, showcasing the two different battles between the two teams.<p>

"What happened to you?" he asked, watching as Micheal succeeded in blasting a jet of flame at the Chris King.

"What do you think happened, moron? We died, duh!" Monique snapped, turning her attention back to the screen.

"What she said." Kiko added with a huff.

_**Confessional**_

"Geez, touchy much?" Trey wondered. "Either way, can I just say that my hands feel so empty without my guitar? Ever since Dakota stole it, I haven't had a chance to go back to Bony Island to find it!"

_**End Confessional**_

Trey coughed awkwardly and turned back to face the screen with the Eagles on it, curious to see how the other team was faring. He looked up just in time to see Anuok throwing a glowing red orb at her hunting falcon, changing it into a large tiger with saber-like teeth poking from its jaw. The tiger roared and pounced on a down Wyverngosa, digging its claws into the dragon's spine to hang on as it thrashed about. While the tiger attack from above, Maurananei attacked from below, using her pick axe to break the toes on one of the dragon's hind feet. She jumped up just in time to dodge a swipe of the dragon's tail, only to have the dragon twist its neck around and breath a jet of flame at her, engulfing her in the fire and draining her health points to the breaking point; the Dwarf rolled out of the way as the dragon snapped its jaws shut on the spot she had been moments ago, and dove behind a rock, breathing heavily as the dragon searched for her.

"Man, that thing holds a grudge doesn't it?" Trey wondered.

"Shut it." Monique frowned.

* * *

><p>Toni breathed and rolled to dodge another jet of flame shot at her. Wyverngosa was not making things any easier as Mitchell continued to attack the Chris King. If they could just defeat Wyverngosa, they could all attack the Chris King together; things sure hadn't gotten easier since Monique and Kiko had perished, Monique being crushed under Wyverngosa's foot and Kiko being thrown over the edge and into the abyss by the Chris King.<p>

She was so deep in thought, she didn't even notice the dragon taking another shot at her, releasing its blue fire from its jaws right at her. By the time she noticed, it was too late to do anything; all she could do was flinch and cover her face, hoping for the best. And she would have been burnt to a crisp right then and there had Paul not seen it and jumped in the way, shielding the Night Elf from the blast and taking the majority of the damage.

Toni cracked open her eye, wondering she wasn't being roasted like a hotdog and saw the chard body of Paul standing over him with her back to her. Toni gasped and moved aside as the body fell to the ground, dead as a doornail. The Night Elf could feel tears brimming in her eyes; he had sacrificed himself to save her. And even though it was just a game, she felt oddly touched by the gesture and turned to face Wyverngosa with fury and vengeance in her eyes. "So that's how you wanna play, huh?" she growled at the dragon.

With a yell, she slammed her staff into the ground, the white and purple colored light washing over her and changing her appearance. Toni's skin began to bubble, forming into bubbles of various shapes before eventually melting together into large bubbles. The large bubbles hardened all over her body, making it look like she had been stung by hundreds of bees as her arms separated from each other at the joints. Her boulder-like shoulders separated from her body, her chest expanding outward as her legs vanished altogether into thin air. Her head became a single piece of volcanic rock, her eyes separating from the skull and becoming glowing orbs of fire as a flame appeared on her head. Rocks of random sizes formed underneath her rock-like chest, dust and fire swirling around her as lava appeared between her limbs and large hands, completing the transformation into a Magma Golem.

With an unholy roar, the fifteen ft tall behemoth brought a gigantic fist down on the ground, sending a shock wave throughout the entire wave that caused the entire world to tremble. The Chris King actually stumbled, leaving an opening for Mitchell to throw a particularly large ball of fire at the Chris King's chest, whipping out his staff to crack it over the villain's head while he was down. Toni turned to face the Wyverngosa, shooting hot, bubbling lava from her large hands and watching with satisfaction as the melted rock poured over the bare bones of the beast, quickly hardening and in the freezing wind and temperature. The skeletal dragon howled in agony and breathed another jet of fire at the Magma Golem, but it was like throwing a ping-pong ball at a charging elephant; completely useless.

With a primal yell, Toni rushed forward on invisible legs and punched the mighty beast in the jaw, bring another fist down on the top of the skull and forming small cracks. In a final move, the gigantic creature slammed her fists down on the dragon's skull, shattering it into a million shards as the dragon's carcass dropped to the ground with a dull _boom._ With the dragon defeated, Toni turned to face the Chris King, just in time to watch him run his sword through Anuok and throw her bloody body into the abyss after crushing her skull under his boot into a red, gooey, pulp.

That was when Toni lost it.

* * *

><p>"How hard is it to defeat an all powerful necromancer!?" Alan screamed as he dodged a swipe of the Chris King's sword.<p>

"You do realize you just answered your own question, right?" Tajira asked as she formed her hands into claws and raised them upwards, raising a shield of rock to block an attack from the Chris King.

"Less talking, more fighting!" Zelda yelled, blasting the Chris King in the face before whipping out her pick axe and driving it through his foot and into the ground, firmly imprisoning him to the spot; no matter how much the necromancer struggled, he was rooted to the spot, and this gave the Rhino's an advantage. Now that they didn't have to continually run and move to try and hit him, they could strike at him more effectively.

The skeleton army's numbers were reduced drastically, now cut down to less than half of their numbers, with a fair amount of the undead warriors under Wilson's control. Leaving Wilson to finish off the rest of the army with his own army, Micheal and Caroline turned their attention to the Chris King, Micheal charging right into the fight with a blast of fire. Caroline drew her bow and notched their arrows, quickly roasting them over Micheal's hot breath before letting them fly. Each arrow struck the Chris King in his left arm, draining his health a little ways. Another shot from Micheal's maw, and the boss's health was cut in half. The Rhino's began striking at him with renewed ferocity, Alan hitting him in several inappropriate places with his war hammer, Zelda and Tajira blasting him in the face whenever possible, Caroline taking every opportunity to hit him with arrows whenever the spaces between his armor opened up, and Micheal causing general mayhem with his massive size and hot breath. Soon, Wilson joined in on the fun and ending it quickly when he cut through the Chris King's armor and pierced his frozen heart.

The battle field fell silent as the Chris King dropped to the ground, clutching his chest with one hand and hanging onto his sword in the other. With a raspy breath, the Chris King glanced up with fear in his fiery blue eyes as the six heroes surrounded him with looks of triumph and grim victory on their faces.

"How?" the villain managed to gasp.

Alan shrugged and stepped forward, leaning against his hammer as he spoke. "I dunno. Could be because we have a strong will. Could be because we work well together. Or maybe it's the fact that we all can't stand your guts. Either way, and I think I speak for everyone here, when I say, don't take this personally. You just remind us all of someone we hate." the Draenei smiled as he hefted up his hammer and both hands and swung it back like a baseball bat. With all his strength, his swung the weapon forward, striking the Chris King in his family jewels with every ounce of strength he had and finally killing him as he dropped to the ground.

The Rhino's cheered and laughed at the Chris King's face, forever twisted into one of pure agony that only a man would ever feel. Alan smirked and bent down to pick up the Chris King's weapon, holding it up to point at the sky as the dark storm clouds cleared and a shaft of light shone down on him. Alan shrugged and struck a heroic pose as a cool wind blew past him, making him look like a true hero as his team mates cheered and whooped with joy.

"On this day, evil has been defeated! FOREVER!" Alan roared to the heavens. "Or at least until the next Virtual Reality game," he grumbled as one by one he and his team mates disappeared in a bright flash of light, separated from the world of fantasy and back to the disgusting world of reality.

* * *

><p>The Rhino's were met with the annoyed face of Chris McLean and the slightly delirious members of the Extreme Eagle's as they came out of the Virtual Reality Machine at the same time as the Rhino's. Trey, Monique, Kiko, and a slightly disturbed Anuok sat on the bleachers facing them, mixed expressions of fear, shock, and general awesomeness on their faces.<p>

"Ugh. Who won?" Alan asked as he rubbed his eyes and shielded them from the bright sunlight.

Chris, for some reason, seemed highly annoyed as he spoke. "Technically speaking, no one actually won the challenge because both of your teams beat my beautiful cyberspace alter-ego at the same time. And very painfully with a ton of overkill if you ask me!" he added with hatred dripping in his voice as Chef, still in his dress, chuckled behind him. However, a quick glance at Maurananei's dreamy expression and he shut up, just as disturbed as Anuok was at her death.

"But because there has to be a winner," Chris continued, faking happiness as he was still miffed about the ways his alter-ego died. "I declare the Rhino's victorious in smiting me!"

"Why!?" Maurananei roared in anger. "We beat the tar out of you more savagely than they did!" she pointed out, Toni elbowing her in the ribs.

_**Confessional**_

"I guess I kind of got carried away," Toni admitted sheepishly. "Paul sacrificing himself to save me kind of sent me over the edge. It;s just that no one's ever shown me that much kindness. I mean sure, Micheal, Anuok, Caroline, Alan, Reese, and Zelda all are still great, but none of them actually got themselves protecting me!" she exclaimed. "Oh, I think I'm in love." she sighed.

_**Change Confessional**_

"Problem," Wilson began, speaking with his deep and disturbing voice while his eyes flashed purple. "First Micheal and Caroline, then Zelda gets all protective about Alan, and now Toni and Paul might hook up. To many relationships for my good," he grumbled. "I've got to do something about this! Perhaps it's time to enlist Kiko and her Animatir'x help." he contemplated. He then sudden gasped and looked around at the outhouse. "Okay, serious, am I sleep walking?" Wilson wondered.

"And where did these gigantic holes in the walls come from?" he asked, gazing upon the gaping holes with confusion.

_**End Confessional**_

"Because," Chris said with an annoyed look. "Compared to your three lost soldiers, the Rhino's only lost one. So get ready to send one sorry loser home tonight, Eagles!" he added with a true, sick expression of evil on his face.

* * *

><p>It was a warm night, with the moon in its waxing state and shaped like a sharp crescent. The stars were twinkling like diamonds overhead as the contestants sitting around the bonfire were less than happy. Chris stood in front of a barrel that acted his podium with a smug grin on his face and a plate of marshmallows in his hand as the campfire cast long shadows around them.<p>

"Well, well, well. Looks like it's time to send one your sorry butts home tonight!" Chris chuckled. "The only problem is deciding which one of you to send home. Luckily, you lot already decided!" he said as Toni and Monique glared at each other. Paul sat on the same log as Toni awkwardly watching the scene as Anuok looked bored, most likely having already predicted who was going home. She gestured for Chris to hurry up, at which the host frowned and sighed.

"Fine. Get on with it already," he huffed. "Anuok, Paul, Maurananei, Mitchell, and Kiko are all safe." Chris went on, tossing each of them a marshmallow without much flare or drama. That left Toni and Monique, which definitely created some drama as Paul glanced nervous at Toni. Chris grinned maniacally at the sight before continuing.

"Toni, you're here tonight because of your bad attitude and temper. Also, the way you destroyed the Chris King in your game was incredibly disturbing. So disturbing that we aren't allowed to show it on TV, which I am perfectly fine with." said Chris.

"Monique, you're here for generally being lazy. And, I guess that's pretty much it," Chris shrugged as a look of triumph crossed Monique's face. The Eagle's glanced at the two girls nervously, with the exception of Anuok who continued to look bored.

"And the final marshmallow goes to . . . ." Chris trailed off, holding up the last marshmallow in his hand as he built up the drama that he knew the audience's back home simply ate up like potato chips. **[6]**

Paul bit his lip and glanced between Toni and Monique as the two girls glared at Chris with anger and rage in their eyes. Maurananei was starring furiously at Monique, still miffed about the Spider Incident. Kiko didn't seem to be paying attention, instead focusing on something much more that seemed to be back on the island. Mitchell was the only one other than Anuok who didn't quite seem to be paying attention as Chris watched the tension build.

"Toni," said Chris, throwing the marshmallow to the shape-shifter. "You're safe for tonight. Monique, you've got a date with the Torpedo of Shame!" he added happily. Monique sputtered, unable to move her lips to form real words as Chef came up behind her and easily picked her up in his bog, meaty hands. Maurananei swooned at the sight as Chef rolled his eyes and carried Monique down to the submarine with Chris's mug painted on the side. A dull boom and a rush of water soon followed afterward as Toni rose to her feet.

"Chris, I would like to request temporary leave of Total drama," she asked. "I need to get back to Nigeria to save my mom."

Chris, ever the mean host he was, didn't seem to care. "Request denied! Your contract states that you may not leave the island unless eliminated. So unless you want to join Monique in the Torpedo of Shame, I suggest you keep your buttocks right where they are!" he ordered as a large shadow crept up behind him. Chris seemed unaffected however as the rest of the contestant's (minus Anuok and Toni) cowered in fear.

"Har-dee har har, Chef. You can' scare me!" Chris said, turning around face what he assumed to be Chef, only to come face to face with something that was most certainly _not _Chef: he came face to snout with a _Tyrannosaurus Rex_, the dinosaur opening its massive jaws a little ways to expose its banana-sized teeth as it growled. Caroline calmly walked out of the woods and stood next to the massive carnivore as Chris glanced nervously at her.

"He says to let her and him go save her mom or he'll make you into Mesozoic Toe Cheese," Caroline translated. Chris quickly jerked his head up and down, backing away as the dinosaur drew up to its full height and roared in triumph. Toni grinned and jogged over to Micheal, hugging his leg as he wagged his tail happily. There was a sudden flash of red that blinded everyone, and the was replaced by a large _Pteranodon. _The pterosaur bent down to let Toni climb on her back as Paul jumped off his log and up to them.

"I'm going with you!" he exclaimed. Micheal looked back at Toni, whose face turned red as she nodded. Micheal then allowed Paul to climb onto his back as Anuok calmly walked up to them and joined them, her presence not questioned.

Chris sighed and pinched his brow. "Are there anymore people who want to leave this show? No? Good," he growled. "Now get out of here! And you better be back before next episode!" he yelled as Micheal flapped his wings and took to the skies giving a final screech before flying Southeast.

"And one of the new losers is sent home early!" Chris continued, turning to face the camera and show his fabulous and priceless face to the world. "Will Toni and Paul hook up? Will Maurananei ever get Chef? And will anyone else leave the show before it's over? Find out next time on Total! Drama! Pahkitew's Vengeance!"

* * *

><p>"Done." said Zelda, her voice drained completely of emotion. It was late into the evening, and Zelda had finally completed the bootleg Animatrix Kiko had demanded she build. The device was black and purple in color in contrast to Micheal's red and silver. Kiko quickly snatched the armband-like device from Zelda's tired hands and slipped onto her wrist, silently cheering with glee as she felt the power rush through her body; with this device, this <em>weapon<em>, she could turn into any creature in the known universe, and could literally do anything she wanted.

"I just have to put in the fail safe," Zelda yawned, but Kiko had long since left the cave to take the Animatrix for a test run. Zelda was about to protest and chase after her, but after hours of sitting in a chair for the challenge and working on the Animatrix under Kiko's keen eye made her exhausted. Without warning, she slumped over her workspace, dozing off and dreaming a dreaming-less sleep.

Kiko was ecstatic as she rushed out into the dark woods and pressed the watch face, a violet colored light lighting up her face as she scrolled over the options available to her. She cycled past the giraffe and bear, bypassing the and trout, and deciding on the deer, to start things simple. She selected the animal and slapped the activation button, letting the violet colored light wash over her and change her DNA. Within moments, a large doe with a purple collar around its neck stood in the woods. The animal glanced itself over before bounding off into the woods, enjoying the rush she got as she easily ran through the forest without tiring. After what seemed hours of running over miles of forest, and paused to sip a drink from the creek, bending down to lap up the cool water from the creek.

Her senses alerted her of a presence, and she quickly rose up to glance behind her, a leg already bent and ready to power her across the creek at the first sign of danger. The deer saw no visible danger in the black forest, the only things she noticed being a owl flying overhead and a pair of purple eyes peering at her from the bush. The animal paused and focused on the eyes as they came out of the bush, attached to Wilson's face as he calmly walked up to her. "Easy," he chuckled darkly. "I just wanna talk."

A flash of purple light later, and Kiko stood in the clearing, standing over the boy as she folded her arms over her chest and glared at him. "Make it quick. I got a weapon to test out." she said.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about, you using your 'weapon', as you put it," Wilson began. "Are you aware that there are only a few contestant's who aren't in a relationship with someone else on the island?" he asked.

"Pft. Maurananei ain't gonna get Chef any time soon." Kiko scoffed.

Wilson growled and pinched his brow. "She doesn't count. I'm talking about Micheal and Caroline, Toni and Paul, even Alan and your own lackey like each other!" he practically shouted. "And I have a proposition for you and that watch of yours."

"You want me to date you?"

"NO!" Wilson yelled. "Use that stupid mind of yours to use that stupid watch of yours to drive a wedge between the couples!" he practically screamed before calming down. "Toni and Paul are both gone, so you're going have to wait on that, and neither Zelda or Alan can change into different animals. That means you're going to have to disguise yourself as Micheal and scare Caroline, make her believe Micheal doesn't care for her anymore," he instructed. "And make sure to use forms only Micheal would have, or she'll get suspicious!" he added.

Kiko narrowed her eyes and frowned, but resisted the urge to change form and squish and/or maul him. "Fine. You've got yourself a deal; I'll handle Micheal and Caroline, you take care of Zelda and Kiko until Toni and Paul returned." she said, taking Wilson's hand and shaking it. She then activated the Animatrix again and turned into a barn owl, taking to the night sky as Wilson cackled.

"Excellent. All is falling into place." he said to himself.

**And there it is! Whew, that was a long one!**

**I'm sorry if things got a bit hazy during some of the fight scenes, but that was where I kind of blanked out. I can only write so much about one subject before I need to take a break. And you would not believe how many times I had to rewrite this thing.**

_**P.S. Please send in the title of a song you would like your OC to sing! If you do not have a preference, I will select a song myself!**_

**My personal pain and agony aside, I have two things to share. One, _Tsukuyomu _is working on the pictures of the new cast members, as well as the official group picture. I don't have exact dates, but it will be soon! Make sure to glance at their profile on Deviantart, under the name of Shi-no-Kogo, and check out the drawings of the cast if you haven't already.**

**And two, I LOST MY iPOD TOUCH! I don't know why I had to share it, but I just did. Unfortunately, that means my ability to monitor my stories and answer your PMs and the likes will be substantially slower. But my personal losses aside, don't forget to comment, review, request, and suggest below!**

**Oh, and I almost forgot! The rest of the numbers!**

**[1] A Slam Rhino is a parody of sorts for WoW's Thunder Lizard.**

**[2] Big Cats in WoW have saber-like teeth. Just an FYI, as i honestly don't have any idea why I put this there.**

**[3] A second parody of the Lich King's dragon, Sindragosa. I'm good, I know.**

**[4] An idea I stole from the _Kobold Necromancer_. Honestly, can you think of a better name?_  
><em>**

**[5] A thrid parody of the Lich King's true name.**

**[6] You can't just have one . . .**

Hasta Luego and Happy Holidays!


	9. Total Drama Idol

**Hello, dear readers! The long awaited chapter has come! And in unrelated news, I found my iPod! That aside, we shall begin this story with minimum delay.**

**For those of you wondering, we won't be finding out what happened in Nigeria. At least, not yet. That little adventure may appear on the next Aftermath. I'm not saying!**

**As always, comment, review, suggest, and request below!**

**Enjoy!**

"Last time on Total Drama: Pahkitew's Vengeance! I sent the contestants into cyberspace to do battle with my handsome, charming, as well as deadly alternate ego. Alan and Paul showed that they had some mad skills, and we finally found out what was ailing Toni. And in an unfortunate event, my handsome alternate ego, The Chris King, was defeated by the Rampaging Rhinos. The Extreme Eagles sent Monique the Newbie packing, and I was forced to let Toni and bunch of the other losers take a trip to Africa for some family time," Chris narrated, walking down the dock and flashing his infamous smile to the camera. "And just to add insult to injury, Kiko finally has her fancy watch working!"

"What insanity will ensue? Do you need a clue? Lets do! Here, on Total! Drama! Pahkitew's Vengeance!"

_**(theme song plays)**_

Caroline was breathing heavily, hugging herself tightly as she hid in a large tree hollow. It was just starting to turn morning, the sun peeking up just over the horizon. The girl hadn't gotten a wink of sleep for the past three days, constantly on the run and in hiding. The only time she ever got any peace was during meal times, but those weren't exactly enjoyable either; her last meal had tried to eat her face and nearly did had Mitchell not burned it to a crisp and killed it.

What she was running from, she didn't quite understand. It looked like someone she knew, someone she cared about. It had the same powers as that same person she cared about. But it certainly didn't like that person she cared about. Micheal was supposed to be overseas with Toni, Paul, and Anuok, fighting to free Toni's mom in Nigeria. It seemed however, Micheal had double crossed both sides, for he had been the one to chase her around the island, constantly trying to kill her.

How did she know it was Micheal? For one, she had mostly been chased by alien creatures and extinct animals, morphs only Micheal had access to, everything from Nisilaha and Tolkobee to Mammoths and _Velociraptors_. During one attempt to stay safe out on the lake, she was even attacked by a _Mosasaur_, the gigantic sea reptile nearly eating her alive before she got back to the safety of the shore. And even then she was ambushed by a .

Another reason she knew it was Micheal was that she could easily see the Animatrix on whatever form he was; a red and silver colored color or belt with a fanged symbol on the disk. And to make matters worse, he constantly kept on saying that he hated her, that he despised her guts even and wanted to rip them out for the world to see. He would taunt her about her life back home, about how she would never have any friends, how people would always hate, even about how gullible she was to think that he actually loved her.

All these thoughts rushed through her head as she cowered in the safety of the tree hollow. Micheal hadn't appeared since breakfast and had left her alone for the better part of the day. She was just about to leave the tree hollow, believing Micheal had given up on trying to kill her, when the sound of giant leathery wings met her ears. She screamed and tumbled out of the tree, hitting several branches on the way down before landing in a bramble patch at the base of the trunk. Groaning, she pulled herself free and collapsed on her back, looking up at the sky to see the shadow of a _Pteranodon _pass overhead, making its way towards the docks.

"At least he's ignoring me," she whispered.

_**Confessional**_

"This. Is. Awesome!" Kiko cried. "I've never felt so alive! Chasing Caroline around and around and making her think her boyfriend hates her guts is the best!She is gullible!" she exclaimed. "Is this how Micheal feels whenever he uses his watch? Because if it is, it's AWESOME!"

_**Change Confessional**_

"This is not awesome," Caroline sobbed, hugging her knees up to her chest, not even caring about the rancid odor that hung over the outhouse. "I thought I found someone who actually liked me for me! I mean, I've dated at least two other guys, and both of them have only ever wanted to get into my pants; both of them ended up getting mauled by hawks and badgers, but still! Micheal was the first one who actually loved me for who I am!" she cried. "And now, even he doesn't like me anymore."

_**Change Confessional**_

Anuok is scribbling something on her notepad, a worried expression on her face as she finishes writing and holds the paper up to the camera. "Dark times are ahead." it reads.

_**End Confessional**_

"Attention victims! It's time for your weekly dose of pain and humiliation! Meet me on the beach in five minutes, or someone will be going home early, Torpedo of Shame style!" Chris's annoying voice rang out over the loudspeaker. The announcement was so loud, even the four contestants up in the air could hear it, Micheal wincing and nearly plunging into the ocean when the loud whine met his ear holes.

"Geez, does he ever shut up?" Toni grumbled, hissing at the bruises that decorated her arms and legs. The team had mostly made it away from Nigeria unscathed, save for a bullet wound to Paul's shoulder, a head injury to Anuok's skull, as well as sense of humiliation on Micheal's part. But, they had succeeded in their mission and rescued Toni's mom from the army and made them swear never to touch her or Toni again, albeit with some minor damages.

"You were awesome back there," Toni told Paul as the pterosaur swopped low over the camp grounds and landed on the beach as the rest of the contestants were walking out of the forest. Paul turned red and scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "It was nothing," he said. Anuok rolled her eyes and jumped off of Micheal's back, Toni and Paul following as a red light enveloped the _Pteranodon _and reverted it back to its human state. "Geez, you guys weigh a ton!" Micheal grumbled, wincing at the cracks in his back.

He pushed the pain aside however, when his eyes caught sight of Caroline standing on the edge of the forest, her wide, brown eyes on him. Micheal gave a friendly wave, expecting Caroline to come over to him, hugging him tightly after being separated for three days. Instead, the girl panicked and ran away, taking cover behind a confused Maurananei. Just as confused as Maurananei, Micheal was about to walk over to Caroline and talk when Chris walked up to the group contestants, all hope of checking up on his girlfriend evaporating into thin air.

"Today, you losers will be participating in a challenge that we have been getting many, many, _many _requests about. Today, you will all be singing in Total Drama Idol!" Chris announced. Some of the contestants actually seemed excited by this as Chris continued on. "You have ten minutes to chose and prepare a song of your choosing. When it's your turn, you will have the option of picking any three contestants from the audience to play instruments or sing back up; your performance will be judged before a panel of specially selected judges, of which your team's ultimate victory depends on!"

_**Confessional**_

"A singing challenge, eh?" Wilson plotted. "Not good; Wilson can not sing to save his life, so it looks like I'll have to step in. I just hope no one will notice." he growled, his voice deep and raspy and his eyes a deep shade of purple. He then suddenly wheezed and jerked, his eyes turning back to blue.

"Okay, seriously! What is happening to me!?" Wilson cried.

_**End Confessional**_

"So, Tajira? Do have an idea what song you're going to sing?" Mitchell asked as he, Tajira, and several other contestants busied themselves in a small clearing in the woods. Maurananei was delicately warming up her voice as Alan was, for some reason, practicing magic tricks. Trey was hopelessly playing air guitar, missing his real guitar incredibly while Caroline quietly talked to a pair of squirrels and sleepy turtle. Micheal was nowhere to be seen, which was starting to frighten Caroline.

"What, are you saying, I don't have good ideas? That I'm brainless!?" Tajira cried angrily.

"No! That's not at all what I was saying!" Mitchell protested.

"Oh, can it Sparky!" Tajira yelled, slapping Mitchell across the face and not even flinching when a thin trail of smoke curled off from her nails. Before Mitchell could say anything, Tajira stomped off into the forest, anger written all over her face.

"What did I do?" Mitchell wondered, his fellow contestants shrugging their shoulders with confusion. "No offense to you Paul, but the new contestants sure are touchy." Maurananei said, brushing her hair with her fingers.

"None taken," said Paul's voice. When the others looked around, the boy was nowhere to be seen. "Where is that sound coming from?" Alan wondered as he finished pulling an incredibly long rope of tied hankies out of his sleeve. He then felt a tapping on his shoulder and turned to see Paul's smiling face. That was however, all he saw, just Paul's face floating in midair in front of Alan. With an almighty scream, Alan jumped back and landed in Maurananei's arms, smiling sheepishly before the tough girl carelessly let him fall to the ground. "What in the name of Micheal's Animatrix is going on here!?" Maurananei wondered as Paul suddenly materialized out of thin air.

"What, did Chris forget to tell you that I can become invisible? Or at least, blend in to my surroundings?" Paul asked, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Yes." Trey sighed, wishing he had his guitar back in his empty hands. His wish was soon granted when his guitar suddenly fell from the sky and landed in his lap, Trey gasping with relief and shock. He glanced with an impossibly happy look on his face at a large _Pteranodon _that hovered overhead; Caroline screamed and ran away as fast as she could. The flying reptile descended to the ground and landed there as a red light washed over him and changed him back into Micheal, who was instantly tackled to the ground by an infinitely happy Trey. "Where did you find it!?" he cried happily. Micheal smiled. "I actually found it in the hand of the Pyscho-killer with a Chainsaw and a Hook, who no longer has a chainsaw and a hook. And he actually doesn't have any hands anymore." he added as everyone around them flinched.

Before any of them could ask about the grizzly details, Chris's voice rang out loud over the loudspeakers (after a loud and on purpose whine that hurt everyone's ears). "Campers! Report to the stage on the beach in five minutes, or the Torpedo of Shame gets an early dinner!" he yelled. One by one, the contestants begrudgingly began the long walk to the beach, some happier than others. By the time they all got to the stage, it was almost noon, and Chris was none to happy about it.

"What took you long?" he whined, impatiently tapping his foot. "You'd think finding a giant stage with my glorious face on it would be easy to spot!"

And indeed, the stage the contestants would be forced to perform on had a giant, bronze statue of Chris's famous mug, smiling down at the invisible audience before him. To the contestants, it simply gave them the chills. The stage itself was pretty standard with a wooden platform ringed with bright red, velvet curtains and spotlights hanging from the rafters. Down in front of the stage were a row of rickety lawn chairs with three office desks behind them. "Now then, one by one you will come onto this stage and humiliate – I mean, _perform _the song of your choosing. As previously stated, you will be able to choose up to three people to play whatever instruments you choose," Chris explained. "Your performance will be judged by me, and the newly repaired and upgraded Fangbot 3.0," Chris announced, gesturing to the left side of the stage where Fang waved and showed the contestants his rows of teeth, causing Caroline to hide behind Maurananei as the shark's eyes locked on her. "And our third and final judge will be returning special guest, Ella!" Chris cried, gesturing to his right as the Fairytale Princess happily skipped onstage with a flock of colorful birdies flying after her. She smiled brightly at the contestants and opened her mouth to sing, Chris slapping his hand over her face before she could.

"Ella! You're not supposed to sing," Chris frowned. Ella sadly nodded, but still had a pleasant smile on her face as she neatly jumped down from the stage and skipped over to the contestants. "Hello! Nice to meet all of you!" she cried happily, gathering Mitchell, Caroline, Micheal, and Toni into a group hug. She moved on over to the others and proceeded to hug and compliment each and every one of them before making her way to her spot at the judges table, where a very annoyed Chris awaited. "Alright! Micheal, you're first up!" the host announced, slapping another hand over Ella's mouth as she dared to sing.

Chef Hatchet, decked out in a sparkling pink dress that showed off his muscles and a small pink chef's hat walked on stage, some of the more weak minded contestants (Caroline, Alan, and Zelda) covering their eyes as everyone else but Maurananei watched with disgust. "All of us have a monster within us, some more than others," Chef began, casting a side look at Chris. "Our first contestant will be singing "Monster" by _Skillet_. Honestly, bands come up with such strange names," Chef grumbled as he walked off stage.

The red curtains slowly opened to reveal Micheal at the front of the stage with a microphone on a stand. Behind him on a slightly raised platform was Trey, obviously happy that he got his guitar back and was getting a chance to play it. To his left and behind him was Maurananei on another raised platform, Mitchell directly behind Micheal and at a set of drums, a nervous look on his face. Micheal looked over the audience and gulped nervously before turning around and throwing a thumbs up to Trey. A thumping low bass cord played for a few beats before being joined by Maurananei and the steady thumping of the bass drum as Micheal began to sing.

"_The secret side of me, I never let you see! I keep it caged, but I can't control it!_

_So stay away from me! The beast is ugly! I feel the rage, and I just can't hold it!"_

At this point, Mitchell cracked the drums, smacking his sticks all around to the beat and rhythm as Maurananei got into the feeling of the song, a creepy and satisfying smile on her face as her fingers danced over the strings.

"_It's scratching on the walls, in the closet, in the halls! It comes awake, and I can't control it!_

_Hiding under the bed, in my body, in my head! Why won't somebody come and save me from it, make this end!?"_

The song went into the chorus, Trey and Maurananei rocking their fingers across the guitar's strings as Mitchell practically attacked the drums. The audience was really getting into the song, bobbing their heads to the song as Chris listened carefully, tapping his hand to the beat. Fang watched intently, though his gaze would occasionally drift between the stage and Caroline. Ella was keeping her eyes glued to the performance, her usual happy smile plastered on her face.

"_I feel it deep within! It's just beneath the skin! I must confess that I feel like a Monster!_

_I hate what I've become! The nightmare's just begun! I must confess that I feel like a Monster!_

_I-I feel like a Monster! I-I feel like a Monster!"_

The music quieted down a little as Micheal went into the next verse, his eyes locking onto Caroline with a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye. He clearly had something planned, and for once, Caroline was scared.

"_My secret side I keep, hidden under lock and key! I keep it caged, but I can't control it!_

_'Cause if I let him out, he'll tear me up, break me down! Why won't somebody and save me from this, make it end!?_

_I feel it deep within! It's just beneath the skin! I must confess that I feel like a Monster!_

_I hate what I've become! The nightmare's just begun! I must confess that I feel like a Monster!_

_I-I feel like a Monster! I-I feel like a Monster!"_

The music suddenly died down a little, the guitars wailing less and less and the drums being tapped instead of being smashed, marking a clear solo nearly devoid of any music. The twinkle in Micheal's eyes got bigger as his hand quickly reached for the Animatrix on his wrist.

"_It's hiding in the dark! It's teeth are razor sharp! There's no escape for me, it wants my soul, it wants my heart!_

_No one can hear me scream! Maybe it's just a dream! BABY, it's inside of me! Stop this Monster!"_

The loud, heavy rock music nearly died down completely, the only sound being the steady whine of Trey's guitar as he played a single long note that changed every now and again.

"_I feel it deep within! It's just beneath the skin! I must confess that I-" _Micheal stopped singing for a split second and jumped into the air, flipping backwards as he hit the Animatrix and letting the red light engulf him completely. Micheal's arms became more muscular, his legs stronger and longer. He soon became so ripped that he lost his shirt, it being torn off his body and tossed away. His skin became patchwork, stitches holding random colored flesh together as the Animatrix symbol appeared on his right pectoral. Metallic bolts sprouted up from his shoulders, wrists, and neck as thick black hair sprouted from his head and down to his chin, stopping. The final transformation was the sudden growth of two large conductor like coils, crackling with electricity as he came back down and landed on the stage with a loud _thumb!_

"_**FEEL LIKE A MONSTER!"**_ Micheal growled in a deep voice as he grabbed the microphone and bent down to roar into it, drawing cheers, whistles, and whoops of approval from the cast and judges.

"_I feel it deep within! It's just beneath the skin! I must confess that I feel like a Monster!_

_I hate what I've become! The nightmare's just begun! I must confess that I feel like a Monster!_

_I feel it deep within! It's just beneath the skin! I must confess that I feel like a Monster!_

_I'm gonna lose control! It's something radical! I must confess that I feel like a Monster!_

I-I feel like a Monster! I-I feel like a Monster! I-I feel like a **MONSTER!**

"

The music then stopped, and the performers on stage walked to the front and took a single bow, Micheal nearly falling off the stage under the weight of his heavy conductors that danced with electricity between them. Moments later, the red light washed over him and changed him back to his normal, human self as the instrumentalists hopped down from stage and Micheal awaited his score from the judges.

"Dude, as much as I hate to admit it, that rocked! The Frankenstein monster transformation was a nice touch," Chris announced.

"It's called a Pabaisanite." Micheal told him.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Learn to take a compliment," Chris grumbled. "You get 8 out of 10."

Micheal bowed, his grin broadening when Fang gave a toothy grin and pulled up a sign with a large, black 9 on the card. It was all down to Ella. "As much as I love hearing everyone sing, the lyrics seemed a tiddly bit . . . depressing," she said, the thought actually seeming to cause her physical pain. "Nevertheless, I give you a 10 out of 10!" she cried happily.

Micheal fist pumped and jumped off the stage, flashing Caroline a joking smile, only to get a frightened look from his girlfriend.

_**Confessional**_

"What's up with Caroline?" Micheal wondered. "Am I doing something wrong?"

_**Change Confessional**_

"Hmm. Micheal's getting suspicious," Wilson noted, his deep raspy voice eching in the musty confessional outhouse. "And any hope of driving a wedge between Paul and Toni has just gone South. If Alan and Zelda don't work, I'm gonna have to execute plan B: Total Drama Mayhem!" he cackled.

_**End Confessional**_

"If your ever someone who is horrible with directions or don't know your geography, this song is for you," Chef announced, reading over a small piece of paper. "Toni will be singing "A Place with No Name" by _Micheal Jackson_. This the intro I've ever been forced to read. Even worse than that crazy farm girl from last season." Chef grumbled, walking off stage just in time to dodge a rotten tomato from the audience.

The curtains then opened to reveal four people standing on platforms of varying levels. Paul, naturally, had a dark blue electric bass around his guess, a big grin and happy grin on his face as he began to play a low cord that sent vibrations through the stage. Anuok, a somewhat bored expression on her face began to play odd notes on the electric keyboard she had been given as Micheal kept beat and rhythm on the drum set towards the back. The most surprising part about the up coming performance however, was Toni. She wearing something that resembled a pure white, two piece bikini, each piece connected by a strip of cloth right down the middle and with loose white cloth around her waist as she through her boyfriend a sexy smile, clapping in time with the beat.

"_As I drove across on the highway, my jeep began to rock._

_I didn't know what to do so I stopped and got out, and looked down and noticed I got a flat."_

Micheal then kicked it up a notch, banging on the drums a little as Paul let out a loud note on his electric bass.

"_So I walked out, parked the car like sideways, so I can find what I can fix._

_I looked around there were no cars on the highway. I felt a strange feeling like a mist."_

"_I walked down towards the end of the road and in the fog a woman appeared._

_She said don't you worry my friend I'll take care, take my hand, I'll take you there." _Toni sang, flashing Paul a sexy smile as she swung her hips to the beat. The music then got louder as the chorus came around.

"_Woah-oh, take me to a place without no name! Take me to a place without no name!_

_Take me to a place without no name! Take me to a place without no name!"_

"_As she took me right through the fog, I see a beautiful city appear._

_Where kids are playin' and people are laughin' and smiling and, no one's in fear."_

"_She said this is the place where no people have pain, and in love and happiness._

_She turned around looked down at my eyes and started cryin'. She grabbed my hand, you got a friend!" _The music increased significantly as Toni shook her hips, putting on a show for the audience and judges. She smiled at Paul and continued singing her sweet voice. To the guitar player, her voice was more alluring than a siren's.

"_Woah-oh, take me to a place without no name! Take me to a place without no name!"  
><em>

"_Take me to a place without no name! Take me to a place without no name!"_

The music quieted down a bit as Toni danced over to Paul lightly wrapping her arms around him as he played, pecking a kiss on his cheek and tracing her fingers around his face, neck, and collar bone as she began to sing her sweet song once more.

"_She started likin' me kissin' me and huggin' me. She didn't really, really want me to leave!"_

_She showed me places I've never seen things I've never done. This place really looks like a lotta fun!"_

"_I seen the grass and the sky and the birds and the flowers surrounded by the trees._

_This place is filled with love and happiness, and not a world could I wanna leave."_

"_So then I went in my pocket took my wallet on out with my pictures of my family and girl_

_This is the place that you choose to be with me when you thought you could be in another world!"_

The music roared as Toni pulled Paul up onto center stage with her, wailing into the microphone as the judges watched with interest. Paul and Micheal began to sing backup with Toni, Anuok remaining silent as usual as she slammed her fingers into the keyboard.

"_Ooh-ooh, Take me to a place without no name! Take me to a place without no name!"  
><em>

"_Take me to a place without no name! Take me to a place without no name!"  
><em>

"_Take me to a place without no name! Take me to a place without no name!"_

"_Take me to a place without no name," _Toni barely whispered, pulling a startled Paul into a deep kiss. The musician paused but quickly leaned into the kiss as well, lacing his arms around his girl as the audience roared and cheered, some of girls sighing lovingly as the guys wolf whistled. Micheal and Anuok threw Paul a thumbs up as they walked off stage, Paul following a few moments later.

"First, let me just say that the outfit scored you some major points," Chris grinned, only to be whacked upside the head by Paul, who gave him a venomous look.

"Step off, Host Man." he growled.

Chris ignored him and continued on. "You get a 9 out of 10." He then turned to see how Fang voted, and the amphibious shark held up a sign with a number 9 on it while staring at Toni with a look in his beady eyes; whether he was madly in love with her or imaging her served on a plate slathered tartar sauce with a lemon wedge was up to debate. That left Ella, who was her usually happy self. "I love the song! It was catchy and beautiful, just like that outfit you're wearing!" she gushed. "10 out of 10!" Toni smiled and walked off stage, pulling her boyfriend into a tight hug and kissing him.

From afar, Micheal watched the happy couple. What had happened between him and Caroline? The last girlfriend he had required too much attention and simply couldn't stand to have their time together interrupted by Micheal's double life. He put up with the relationship until she literally told her to take the Animatrix off of his wrist and destroy it; the relationship ended swiftly.

Unbeknownst to Micheal, or anyone else in the competition for that matter, Wilson peered out upon them with devious eyes. He quickly hid behind a tree, making sure no one else could see him as he focused himself. He suddenly wheezed and the sound of bones grinding and groaning filled the air as Wilson began to change. Like some nightmarish werewolf transformation, Wilson painfully grew taller, his legs becoming thin sticks and his arms growing long and wiry. His skin slowly began to darken, turning into a chocolate brown as his fingers became bony and his nails longer and unkempt. His hair was slowly sucked back into his head until it was little more than black fuzz around his scalp, his eyes glowing an odd purple color. The most dramatic change however, were the changes in his clothes. His clothes changed into a dark maroon undertaker tailcoat and a pair of black pants with a purple vest that didn't exactly cover his entire midriff. A red cummerbund was strapped around his waist a a pair of white spats over his black shoes. As if that weren't creepy enough, a black top hat with a large red feather over a human skull magically appeared on his head and a long cane tipped with serpent holding an orange orb in its jaws appeared in his hands. Several tailsmen and bead necklaces appeared around his neck, the largest of these being once that had crocodile teeth run through the string. With the transformation complete, Wilson stepped back out into the light, a completely different person.

"Wilson? Wilson. Where is Wilson?" Chris practically yelled, easily becoming impatient with his time being wasted.

"Over here, my good man," Wilson said in a surprisingly warm and deep voice. Everyone whipped around to look at him and nearly jumped out of their skin upon setting their eyes on the new Wilson.

"Wilson, dude," Paul asked, barely able to speak. "Is that you?"

"You'd be surprised what I can do with a bit of costuming and make up, little man," Wilson chuckled, leaning on his cane and winking. The cast all shared confused looks, but seemed to buy it as Wilson climbed on stage. Toni however, was not among them and was watching him with suspicion and disdain; she had already witnessed Kiko and Zelda plotting to make a copy of Micheal's Animatrix, but there was never any proof that she could find. She was sure the attempted experiment had failed and that the girls had given up on the ridiculous idea.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Chef came back on stage, having lost the pink dress that Chris had forced him to wear; Maurananei didn't seem to care either way and was gazing upon him lovingly as Chef continued to do his job. "Wilson will be singing "Friends on the Other Side"from the movie _The Princess and the Frog_." Chef announced into the microphone, skipping the usual dialogue upon Chris's request. The cook then went to step off stage when Wilson suddenly grabbed him with surprising strength and hauled him back into the lime light, a reluctant Chris waiting there for him. Way off in the back of the stage, hidden in the shadows where almost no one could see them, were Paul playing an assortment of drums and other percussion instruments as Caroline nervously fingered her clarinet. To make matters worse, Micheal was also there, a saxophone attached to his neck with a black strap and his attention away from his girlfriend.

"Don't you disrespect me, little man!" Wilson suddenly shouted at Chris, Caroline jerking the instrument to her mouth to play the odd note.

"Don't you derogate or deride._ You're in my world now, not your world. And I got friends on the other side." _Wilson whispered, the lights on the stage darkening as if he and his two companions had entered a dark room. A spotlight sudden turned on from above, shining down on a table with a white cloth on, three chairs seated around it.

"That's an echo, gentlemen. Just a little something we have here in Louisiana, a little parlor trick. Don't worry." Wilson reassured Chris and Chef a low, moaning echo repeated the boy's previous words. The music suddenly kicked up into a jazzy rhythm as Wilson began to sing.

"_Sit down at my table, put your mind at ease. If you relax it'll enable me to do, anything I please." _Wilson sang sweetly, his long black shadow playfully tripping Chef as Wilson shoved the two men over to the table; the two of them shared a discrete high five before continuing.

"_I can read your future! I can change it 'round some, too. I'll look deep into your heart and soul-"_

"You do have a soul, don't you, Chris?" Wilson asked Chris who shook his head with a sadistic smile.

"_-make your wildest dreams come true!" _Wilson finished jumping on the table as Chris and Chef sat down. Now the real fun would begin as the music turned mysterious and creepy.

"_I got voodoo, I got hoodoo, I got things I ain't even tried!" _Wilson exclaimed, pulling out dead chickens, snakes, tailsman, potions, and some bizarre, fiery demon chest from his pockets and tossing them over his shoulder without a care. _"And I got friends on the other side."_

Chris and Chef got comfy, looking around wildly when the same voice from before repeated it's master's last sentence. Their attention was soon diverted when Wilson skillfully pulled out a deck of tarot cards seemingly from nowhere.

"_The cards, the cards, the cards will tell, the past, the present, and the future as well!_

_The cards, the cards, just take three. Take a little trip into your future with me!" _Wilson demanded, Chris eagerly taking three cards from the deck, elbowing Chef when he was a but reluctant to do so.

_Now you young man are from across the sea. You come from two long lines of royalty," _Wilson sighed, showing Chris his past on a tarot card.

"I've always thought so." Chris chuckled as Wilson silenced him and continued with his performance.

"_Your lifestyle's high, but your funds are low. You need to marry a lil' hunny whose daddy got dough!"_

"I won't really have to get married, will I?" Chris whispered Chef. The cook shook his head and Chris relaxed as Wilson continued to sing, the music getting louder as the fortune telling went on.

"Now y'all gotta get hitched, but hitchin' ties you down. You just wanna be free, hop from place to place," Wilson described, making Chris's cards vanish into another deck he skillfully pulled out of nothingness. "But freedom, takes green!"Wilson added, making the money symbol with his fingers. The music then soared as Wilson waved his hand over the dealt out cards and changed them into hundred dollar bills.

"_It's the green, it's the green, it's the green you need! And when I look into you're future it's the green that I see." _Wilson finished Chris's fortune, handing him a tarot card of him surrounded by beautiful ladies on a lily pad-shaped pile of money.

Wilson then turned to Chef, insulting the first chance he got. _"On you little man, I don't want to waste much time. You've been pushed around all your life! You've been pushed around by your mother and your sister and your brother. And if you was married, you'd be pushed around by your wife." _Wilson sighed, quickly gathering Chef's cards and holding them like a flip book, running the image past him, despite there only being three cards.

"_But in your future, for you **I **see, is exactly the man you always wanted to be!" _Wilson finished, handing Chef a tarot card of him rolling money surrounded by pretty woman (who thankfully did not resemble Maurananei) and with Chris bowing down to him as a lowly servant. Chef nervously took the card, grinning evilly at the image and glancing between it and Chris, who was blissfully unaware of Chef's possible future.

"Shake my hand," Wilson demanded, cross his arms over his chest and holding his hands out to either man. "Won't you shake a poor, sinner's hand?" he asked again, Chef eagerly grabbing Wilson's hand the same time Chris did.

"_Yes," _Wilson hissed, the light fading and turning hues of purple and green as the music got louder and louder, a loud drumming beating out all the other noise. Hundreds of bats suddenly appeared out of poofs of pink colored smoke, a pair of python's quickly wrapping themselves around Chris and pinning his hands to the chair, squeezing tighter and daring him to struggle (of which, he did). Wilson now had a white skull painted on his face, the skull from his hat noticeably missing as the boy continued his dark dance, voodoo dolls popping out from under the table and swarming the stage,

"_Are you ready!?" _Wilson asked, the voodoo dolls repeating his question.

"_Are you ready!? Transformation central!" _Wilson sang, the dolls keeping up the act.

_Reformation central!" _Wilson yelled, waving his hands as they were coated in dark green and purple smoke, swirling and whirling around him, Chef, and Chris as the music got louder and louder.

"_Transmogrification central!" _Wilson yelled, thrusting his hands forward and blasting Chris with the spell, cackling as Chris cried out in pain.

"_Can you feel it? You're changin', you're changin', you're changin', all right! I hope you're satisfied!_

"_But if you ain't, don't blame me! You can blame my friends on the other side!"_ Wilson cried, pulling out the last few words as he danced with the voodoo dolls and the music soared Chef panicked and wildly looked around as his entire world was filled with Wilson's evil and crazy laughter, his dark and seemingly, alive shadow filling the sky as voodoo dolls of all shapes and sizes crawled around the ground, dancing to the rhythm and carrying a rather ugly looking frog over to Chef before throwing it into his shaking hands. Chef nervously glanced up as Wilson seemed to grow bigger with every maniacal cackle he took, the music suddenly stopping as all light vanished.

"Hush . . . ." Wilson finished, his white skull mask glowing in the darkness before fading away.

The audience was stunned to say the least. If any of their performances had been climactic before, it was nothing compared to what they just saw. And as soon as the darkness had come, it had vanished, the stage suddenly being filled up bright light again as Wilson walked to the front of the stage and bowed deep, a deeply disturbed Chef shivering behind him as the frog in his hands hopped to the front of the stage to stand next to Wilson. The boy grumbled under his breath and clapped his hands together, saying a quick word before flicking a finger at the amphibian. The frog was suddenly coated in green and black fog before seemingly changing back into Chris. The audience cheered and clapped at the performance as Micheal and Paul dragged a traumatized Chef off stage; Caroline opted to hide from her boyfriend again.

"Well, uh, based on the state that Chef's in, I give it a 9 out of 10." Chris announced as he walked back to his seat, giving a mocking, reassuring pat on Chef's shaking shoulder.

Fang held up a sign holding the number 7. When asked why, he simply pointed his eyes and the stage.

"Normally I don't like such negative or dark songs, but since it's from one of my favorite movies, I give it 10 out of 10!" Ella cried happily. Wilson smirked and walked off stage, humming his song quietly to him under the watchful eye of Toni.

_**Confessional**_

"Okay, something's up with him." Toni stated, jerking with a thumb outside the outhouse.

_**End Confessional**_

Caroline bit her lip as her name was called; it was her turn to perform the song she had chosen, "Just a Little Faster" by _There for Tomorrow_. She had only a few minutes to warm up and choose her fellow musicians. The song she was thinking of involved a guitar, so Trey was in obvious shoo-in. She also needed someone on drums, and she noticed no one had bothered to use Tajira yet; perhaps she would be a good player. As for the second guitar, she had to choose between Maurananei or Micheal. She was honestly terrified of Micheal, who seemed to show love to her one minute and then utter hatred the next. He didn't seem to know what the heck was going on, leaving her with Maurananei to pick. She really needed Micheal to hear this song.

She sucked in a deep breath as she walked up on stage, sweating as she walked up to the microphone and her band mates walked on behind her. Trey gave Caroline a reassuring smile, Tajira generally ignored her, and Maurananei gave her thumbs up; it was time. She barely heard Chef introduce her as the judges all watched with anticipation. She ignored them as the music started up, a constant trill between four notes by Trey. Tajira smashed her sticks into the drums as Maurananei joined in. She barely heard the music however. All she could focus on was Micheal, watching him watch her with intent.

"_You keep calling it a crash and burn, just wait your turn, you might have time to speak."_

_"There barely was a lesson learned, 'cause in return no favors back to me!"_

"_I'm sure it tasted oh so sweet but it was never good enough for me!"_

_"I bit the tongue behind my teeth, it was never good enough for me!" _Caroline sang into the microphone. "Just a Little Faster" by _There for Tomorrow _was the perfect song to explain what was happening to Micheal, and she was singing it with passion.

"_You said you always keep your word! Show me what you're after!"_

_"I thought you promised me the world! Tell me what you're after!"_

_"Go on and take you way too far, 'cause here we are, waiting once again!"_

_"You said you always keep your word! Show me what you're after, just a little faster!" _The chorus died down a bit as Caroline caught her breath, her eyes tracing to Micheal. He was watching with a slightly worried and pained expression on his face, as if he didn't quite know what was going on, but trying his best to figure it out.

"_Are mine the only eyes that see, so steadily this cut and dry routine."_

_"Even when you're by my side, I still need time to feel the company!"_

"_I'm sure it tasted oh so sweet, but it was never good enough for me!"_

_"I bit the tongue behind my teeth, it was never good enough for me!"_

"_You said you always keep your word! Show me what you're after!"_

_"I thought you promised me the world! Tell me what you're after!"_

_"Go on and take you way too far, 'cause here we are, waiting once again!"_

_"You said you always keep your word! Show me what you're after, just a little faster!"_

"_Hold your breath now, the bad blood's wearing thin from the pain that settles in when we learn too much too soon!"_

_"Hold your breath now the bad blood's wearing thin from the pain that settles in when we learn too much too soon!"_

Caroline sucked in a deep breath. Time to bring her on home and get it through to Micheal. She gazed upon him with sad eyes as Maurananei played a small solo and Caroline began singing the words.

"_You said you always keep your word! Show me what you're after!"_

_"I thought you promised me the world! Tell me what you're after!"_

_"Go on and take you way too far 'cause here we are, waiting once again!"_

_"You said you always keep your word! Show me what you're after!"_

The music began to die down as Caroline sang the final words, tears nearly coming to her eyes when she caught sight of Micheal. His head was bowed low into a submissive posture; he looked hurt. Caroline finished her song.

"_It was never good enough for me!"_

"_Show me what you're after, just a little faster!"_

She was breathing heavily as the music stopped and the musicians walked off stage, Tajira twirling her drum sticks between her fingers Trey and Maurananei threw her thumbs up. Gulping, Caroline walked to the front of stage to receive her score.

"Honestly, I can't really say I liked your song, Caroline," Chris said without a care, earning glares from most of the cast. "I dunno, maybe it's because I've already heard so much rock and roll today or something. Either way, you receive a 6 out of 10." As most of the cast booed and hissed, Fang held up a sign with a picture of a crossed out picture of Caroline on a plate slathered in tatter sauce and with a lemon wedge. Underneath it was a crude scribbling of the number 8. Caroline flinched upon seeing before turning to Ella.

"Oh, you know me! I simply can't say no to anyone!" the princess cried happily. "10 out of 10!" she exclaimed, Chris throwing her an annoyed look.

"Yeah. Next!" Chris yelled. Caroline gave a slight bow and went to hop off stage, slipping behind the curtain and into the shadows. She soon found the door leading to the outside and reached the knob, only to feel a strong force curl its way around her wrist and hold it there, squeezing it lightly. Caroline opened her mouth to scream, but a large hand slapped over her lips, silencing her.

"Shhh! It's just me." Micheal whispered. This did not ease Caroline's nerves.

"I just wanna talk."

Caroline relaxed about 5 degrees as Micheal released his hold on her. He sucked in a deep breath and began speaking in a slow, calm manner that Caroline knew she sometimes used on nervous animals. "I want to same that I'm sorry," he began. "I honestly have no idea why you are terrified of me all of a sudden. Whatever's going on, Anuok, Paul, and Toni can all confirm that I was with them every second in Nigeria."

"How do I know you're not lying?" Caroline asked, scared. "How do I know you don't have some animal that can teleport or something!?"

Micheal scoffed at the idea. "Teleporting? No biological creature can do that with the help of some kind of machinery. And I swear on my Animatrix that I would never do anything to hurt you in anyway." he reassured, a pleading look in his eyes. Caroline wanted to believe him, she wanted to believe him for all she was worth. But the proof was almost unavoidable.

"O-o-okay." Caroline finally said. Micheal smiled and gently took her hand, leading her out of the stage's wings and out into the audience. Unbeknownst to them both, Kiko was watching behind the safety of a thick curtain, her eyebrows narrowing when she heard the conversation.

_**Confessional**_

"Argh! Nothing is working!" Kiko cried in frustration. "Somehow, I've got to split those two up for good!"

_**Change Confessional**_

"Problem," Wilson said to himself, still looking like his alter ego with his stick-like legs bent up to fit into the outhouse confessional. "Micheal and Caroline are starting to forgive each other, and Kiko can't seem to do anything right," he summed up, stroking his short mustache. "Solution? Send Kiko over the edge and watch the fireworks." he grinned maliciously.

_**End Confessional**_

"Ugh, how many more of these do we have to go?" Chris wondered aloud with clear irritation in his voice. "This challenge is cutting into my pedicure time!"

The contestants ignored Chris as Paul walked up on stage to the front of the microphone. Now, while most of the contestants had opted only to sing for their performances, Paul had wanted to play his new guitar, acting as one of the band members. Just a little behind him and to his left was Toni, a red tinge to her face as she rested her hands on a black keyboard; apparently she knew how to play the instrument. Towards the back was the large, looming figure of a Pabaisanite wearing a pair of black and red pants, twirling drumsticks around in its large fingers.

"You wanna sing and dance, you do the intro!" Chef called from somewhere off stage, clearly annoyed. "I'm taking my official 'me time' back in my quarters with Mr. Rubbers!"

"What? We're in the middle of a show here!" Chris yelled angrily as the contestants gave each other confused looks and shuddered at what Chef would possibly do during his 'me time'; the thoughts that raced through their minds were not entirely pleasant.

"Don't care, Pretty Boy!" Chef yelled back, ending the conversation. Chris frowned and huffed, falling back in his chair and gesturing for Paul to continue on.

"Um, I will be singing "Crazy 4 U" by _R5_ with my lovely girlfriend, Toni, on the keyboard, and Micheal on the drums. Hopefully we'll still have drums once this song is over." he added upon noticing Micheal's transmutation. "Uh, dude? Why'd you transform?" he asked as Toni's face turned even redder.

"Hand slipped, okay?" Micheal grumbled. Paul shrugged and began somewhat peppy cord, singing into the microphone after a few beats.

"_I played it safe. I kept my foot up on the brake. I never really took a chance in life, and didn't live for today."_

Toni then started to play on the keyboard in the higher octave as Micheal gave a short roll and went into the rhythm, his large hands threatening to destroy the drum set his towering frame dwarfed.

"_Oh, girl, and then I met you. Opened my eyes to something new. You know you set me free like no one else, and got me actin' a fool!_

"Don't you know changed my life, girl cause now I'm livin' and it feels so right! Yeah . . ."

"You got my heart beat pumpin' and its going insane. You got me jumping outta aeroplanes!"

_"And that's why . . ."_

_I'm crazy its true, Crazy 4 U!"_

_"You got me base jump livin' and I can't look down! You know you short circuit my brain! I can't lie . . ."_

_I'm crazy its true, Crazy 4 U!"_

The music died down a little from the chorus as Paul moved on to the next verse, tapping his foot to keep in time with the rhythm as he cast a look at Toni, who's face was a hot red. Yes, she loved singing her song for Paul's enjoyment, seducing him slightly with the outfit, but she found that he got even more attractive, hotter even, when he singing his song for _her _and only her.

"Midnight dipping in the pool, or sneaking out up on the roof."

_You're unpredictable and girl that's what, that's what I love about you!" _Paul sang, winking at Toni as she grinned like the Cheshire Cat.

"Don't you know you changed my life, girl, cause now I'm livin' and it feels so right! Yeah . . ."

"_Don't you know changed my life, girl cause now I'm livin' and it feels so right! Yeah . . ."_

"You got my heart beat pumpin' and its going insane. You got me jumping outta aeroplanes!"

_"And that's why . . ."_

_I'm crazy its true, Crazy 4 U!"_

_"You got me base jump livin' and I can't look down! You know you short circuit my brain! I can't lie . . ."_

_I'm crazy its true, Crazy 4 U!"_

The music dulled to a nearly inaudible roar as Micheal stopped hammering on the drums altogether. Toni had reduced her playing to only a few notes as Paul lightly strummed his guitar, singing into the microphone while dragging it over to her. A very difficult task for someone singing, playing a guitar, and keeping beat at the same time, but Paul was one of the few who seemed able to multitask to an extreme.

_"No I didn't lose my mind when I fell for you, and I'm gonna love you girl like you never knew."_

"Don't you know you changed my life, girl cause now I'm living and it feels so right. Yeah . . ."

The music suddenly went into overdrive as Micheal practically smashed the drums to pieces, Paul giving a wild motion as he strummed his guitar, barely holding onto his guitar pick as Toni slammed her fingers into the keys.

"_Don't you know changed my life, girl cause now I'm livin' and it feels so right! Yeah . . ."_

"You got my heart beat pumpin' and its going insane. You got me jumping outta aeroplanes!"

_"And that's why . . ."_

_I'm crazy its true, Crazy 4 U!"_

_"You got me base jump livin' and I can't look down! You know you short circuit my brain! I can't lie . . ."_

_I'm crazy its true, Crazy 4 U!"_

"_I'm crazy its true, Crazy 4 U!"_

"_Im crazy its true, Crazy 4 U."_ Paul barely whispered, sweeping Toni off her feet and leaning her back, kissing her full on the lips in front of the crowd as the song ended. The audience, mostly Trey, Caroline, Zelda, and Ella, went nuts; Tajira looked like she could care less, but if one looked closely they could see the corners of her mouth curved upwards into the slightest of smiles; Wilson looked indifferent, a fake smile on his face as he stroked his mustache maliciously, brewing as Kiko looked like she would exploded, her left wrist jammed into her pocket; Maurananei was no where to be seen.

"My work here, is done." Micheal said with a smirk on his patchwork face, getting from the obliterated drum set and hopping off stage as Toni and Paul made out for a few more seconds before parting, both of their faces shades of red. They both turned to face the judge, Paul with his arm around Toni and with her head resting on his shoulder, a smile on both their faces.

"Toni, get off the stage!" Chris demanded, a stern look on his face. "You've already gotten your score!"

"I say, she stays right where she is." Paul frowned, narrowing his eyes at the host.

"Well, you have no say! None of you do!" Chris yelled, clearly irritated at having lost control of his own show. Ella cringed and tried to look invisible as Caroline hid in the crowd.

"What about me?" a deep voice rumbled from behind Chris. "I'm pretty sure Paul and Toni have a say in this. And if you want to keep that fancy hairdo of yours, I suggest you stop your whining and give Paul his score." Chris visibly flinched and turned around to find Micheal, still in his Pabaisanite form and with his arms folded over his broad chest, his conductors crackling with an alarming amount of blood red electricity. Barely twitching a muscle, a jet of electricity struck the desk's surface to Chris's left, barely burning his hair as a black soot mark sprouted from the desk.

"Next time, I won't miss." Micheal warned the host.

"Ah! Paul, you get 10 out of 10 for being original in your song choice! And because I want to keep my hair on my head . . ."

"Are you implying that you're bald?" Toni smirked.

"Who told you!?" Chris cried before realizing what he had said. Out loud. In front of the contestants. And the entire viewing world. On international TV. The host quickly hid under the desk as everyone turned to Fang, who simply held up a sign with the number 9 crudely written on it.

"10 out of 10!" Ella squealed happily, clapping her hands eagerly. "I simply love romance! A prince and princess united under love at last!" she sighed happily.

"You could say that." Paul chuckled. "Say, has anyone seen Maurananei? I think it's her turn."

* * *

><p>"Ha! Eat it, ghost! Eat it!" Chef cried happily as his thumbs rapidly tapped the buttons on his hand held gaming device. The feel of warm, almost boiling, water against his skin felt good and relaxing after what he had to endure; being forced to dress up in a dress in front of the camera was <em>not <em>fun.

True, he did collect girly dresses as a hobby, but that paled in comparison to some of Chris's dark secrets. The cook sighed heavenly as he beat the final boss in his game and sat back in his hot tub, enjoying the luxuries he had received from being a co-host. Sure, Chris had more expensive and upgraded versions of whatever Chef had, but he was in his own private quarters, his impenetrable Fort of Solitude where no one could disturb him or bother him for as long as he wanted.

"Hiya, handsome." a silky voice purred seductively. Chef yelped and nearly dropped his device into the hot tub with him, screaming like a little girl upon finding Maurananei standing next to him, resting her head on his broad shoulders and seductively tracing a delicate finger over his collarbone.

"What are ya doin' in here!?" Chef yelled, half in anger and half in fright; the girl was seriously starting to scare him. Not only she try to flirt with him whenever she laid eyes on him, but he had begun to notice several things had gone missing over the past few days; his wooden spatula, his favorite cook's hat, a spare apron, and even the hair on his short beard. He shuddered at the thought and threw Maurananei his best glare, but she didn't even flinch under it, instead giggling like a little girl.

"Checking up on my Chefy Wefy, of course!" she explained, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Chef, the big, bad, muscled hash slinger who could face the worst of the worst, was now shivering under the mere words of a head-over-heels-in-love girl. With a scream of fright, Chef jumped out of the hot tub, trying to make a run for it. Unfortunately for him, Maurananei grabbed him by his trunks and yanked him back into the hot tub with a splash, slipping off her own clothing and revealing a brand new, white bikini that was very revealing and climbing into the tub with him.

By now, Chef was incredibly creeped out as Maurananei sidled up him and wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders, tracing a single finger over his well defined muscles. She then gave him a sexy smile and lightly stenciled her tongue over Chef's collarbone, finding him to taste surprisingly well; Chef however was getting beyond uncomfortable. It wasn't until Maurananei's white bikini bottom floated to the surface of the water and he felt her hand on his swim trucks did he finally have enough.

"Listen here, crazy girl!" Chef roared, jumping out of the hot tub in a spray of water. "I don't like you! I haven't liked you, and I never will like you! You are beyond crazy! Even beyond that creepy Izzy girl!" With a final scream of fright, Chef ran out of his private quarters as fast as his legs could carry him. Maurananei simply sat there in the boiling water of the hot tub, not noticing that her bikini top had, for the second time she was in the contest, slipped off her and leaving her stark naked. With a final sob of despair, Maurananei sunk beneath the surface of the hot tub, waiting to drown for all she was worth.

It wasn't until she had nearly drowned did a pair of strong arms pull her out of the hot tub. Anuok sighed and climbed up onto the rim of the hot tub after laying Maurananei on the floor and covering her up with a towel and jumped off, performing an anvil drop and landing on Maurananei's chest. Water spat out from Maurananei's lips as Anuok continued to perform CPR until the color had fully returned to Maurananei's face and she sat up, wrapping the towel around her bare self.

"Anuok? What happened?" Maurananei asked.

Anuok rolled her eyes and mimicked Maurananei drowning in the hot tub, much to Maurananei's disappointment. With a heavy sigh, she bowed her head and seemed to get smaller as she curled up on herself, tears starting to drip from her eyes and onto the wet marble floor; Anuok merely held her and rubbed her back soothingly as Maurananei continued to cry. The wimpering girl felt Anuok leave her presence and looked up to see Anuok holding out her notepad, reading "I foresaw you drowning in the hot tub, but I do not know the full story. Do you want to talk about it?"

Maurananei sniffed and sat up, leaning against the side of the hot tub as Anuok held her hand, listening carefully as Maurananei told her what had happened, how Chef had outright rejected her without a care in his twisted, black heart, thought Anuok visibly cringed at Maurananei's methods of seducing.

"Did you ever think that Chef may not like you?" Maurananei read over another note Anuok had scribbled out. "A couple times, I guess." she answered with shame in her voice. "I just thought I found someone like me, someone who had suffered like I had. Guess I didn't."

Anuok nodded and gave her hand a light squeeze. Maurananei gave a weak smile and suddenly pulled Anuok into a tight hug, Anuok relaxing once she got over the shock. "Thanks, Anuok. You always know just what to say." Maurananei said with a smile.

Anuok rolled her eyes at the joke before the sound of baying dogs and claws scrabbling on hard, wood flooring met their ears. A few minutes later, a pair of bloodhounds, one of them wearing a red collar around its neck, bounded into the bathroom and sat down in front of the two girls with watchful eyes. Paul came in a few minutes later, clearly winded as he leaned against the door frame. "Finally found you," he panted. "Tajira's almost done, Maurananei. And from the rude gestures she's giving the judges and the way Ella's broken down and hidden under the table, Mitchell's hiding in the curtains, and Trey is currently taking safety in the tallest tree available, I think she got a bad score."

"Are you going anywhere with this?" Maurananei asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"It's your turn," Paul gulped before noticing Maurananei's discarded clothes on the floor and her swim suit floating in the steaming hot tub. "Is Maurananei naked?"

Anuok nodded.

"Okay, just wanted to be clear." Paul noted before leaving the bathroom, the two bloodhounds trotting at his heels.

* * *

><p>"You sure about this?" Maurananei asked Anuok. The silent girl gave her a thumbs up from her station behind a pair of large turn tables that the producers had somehow managed to buy with the limited budget they were on. Paul twirled a slightly rusted trumpet in his hands, looking slightly annoyed at not being able to play around with the turn tables. Alan stood awkwardly off to the side, not quite sure why he was on stage, but Maurananei gave a reassuring look, the first in a very long time; for once, she wasn't threatening his life.<p>

"I'll be singing "I Wish" by _Cher Lloyd _and _T.I._ Because I have a few words to say to a certain someone." Maurananei finished with a low growl of annoyance. She gave a signal for Paul to start playing as Anuok turned on the turn table.

"_Baby, I seen the chick you're with, wish that I never did freakin' perfect and five foot ten, just wanna punch her lip."_

_"'Cause I know I've been wasting time trying to catch your eye. Yeah I know that I been so blind thinking that I'm your type"_

"And now I'm at home, I'm all alone, 'bout to pick up the telephone."

"_Got to call my genie so he knows, yeah"_

"I wish I was tall, I wish I was fast! Wish I could shop with a bag full of cash!"

_"'Cause if I want you, I gotta have that!"_

_"I wish I had style, I wish I had flash! Wish I woke up with a butt and a rack!"  
><em>

"_'Cause if I want you, I gotta have that!"_

"Baby, I'm gonna keep it real, boy you're the one I want. I don't own any five inch heels, just got my Nikes on."

_"Never thought I was insecure, boy look at what you done. I don't know what I studied for, clearly I like 'em dumb."_

"And now I'm at home I'm all alone, 'bout to pick up the telephone. Got to call my genie so he knows, yeah."

"I wish I was tall, I wish I was fast! Wish I could shop with a bag full of cash!"

_"'Cause if I want you, I gotta have that!"_

_"I wish I had style, I wish I had flash! Wish I woke up with a butt and a rack!"  
><em>

"_'Cause if I want you, I gotta have that!"_

Alan gulped and suddenly stole the microphone away from Maurananei, rapping in as deep as voice as he possibly could, Maurananei's face turning a light shade of pink.

_**Confessional**_

"Okay, I don't know if this is due to the effect of some all powerful being or something," Maurananei began, attempting to ignore the stink that filled the outhouse to the brim. "But Alan actually kinda looks . . . cute when he sings. But if you tell anyone that I will wring your scrawny neck!" Maurananei threatened the camera.

_**End Confessional**_

"Hey, now don't you wanna do some, baby, with the roof gone, baby."

_"Aston Martin look retarded like the coup gone crazy. I'm not sure what kinda fella you like, but I can give you paradise, have it however you like."_

_"I'm talking solitaire iced out, ring, watch, necklace ain't no talking reckless, girl, I'm certified respected, girl."_

_"Yeah, you like to run your mouth, well you're about to learn a lesson, girl."_

_"Yeah, you the one but I'll replace you in a second, girl and I ain't even trying to see you naked, girl!"_

_"Wait, there I go exaggerate, clearly carried away. But what I'm saying you could true that I wanna be wherever you at."_

"_So you wishing you could kiss me. Do you really wanna do that, eh? Make a wish, girl!"_

The audience clapped politely as Alan took a quick bow and handed Maurananei back the microphone, scampering off to her right where he proceeded to do some break dancing to the beat of the music that was both amazing and embarrassing at the same time. Maurananei tried to hide the pink tinge of her cheeks and continued singing her song, throwing Chef an angry look and flipping him the finger.

"_I wish I was tall, I wish I was fast! Wish I could shop with a bag full of cash!"_

_"'Cause if I want you, I gotta have that!"_

_"I wish I had style, I wish I had flash! Wish I woke up with a butt and a rack!"  
><em>

"_'Cause if I want you, I gotta have that!"_

"_I wish I was tall, I wish I was fast! Wish I could shop with a bag full of cash!"_

_"'Cause if I want you, I gotta have that!"_

_"I wish I had style, I wish I had flash! Wish I woke up with a butt and a rack!"  
><em>

"_'Cause if I want you, I gotta have that!"_

The music then wore off in a somewhat unorthodox way that sounded like the band members had been suddenly taken out by assassins as Maurananei took the microphone and broke over her leg with ease, roaring and pounding her chest like an angry gorilla as the audience applauded; whether it was because they liked the song or because they were scared was up to debate.

"Stop clapping, ya worthless maggots!" Chef yelled from his spot at the judges table; Chris had run off to some unknown location, most likely to take care of his receding hairline. "Ya get 5 out of 10 points, and not just because of recent events. Pervert Boy's little rap-thing was horrible."

Alan frowned and let his shoulders dropped as Fang held a sign with the number 8 on it. Ella, having finally managed to recompose herself after Tajira's 'tantrum', gave Maurananei a 10 out of 10. Maurananei bowed and flipped off Chef again before leaving the stage, the audience laughing at Chef's annoyed face.

"Alright, people! We're nearing the end!" Chris suddenly announced, coming out of the wings of the stage and acting like he had never been gone. It was hard to ignore though, when he had a large sombrero sitting on his head that nearly covered his entire face.

"Any particular reason you're wearing a sombrero?" Mitchell asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No! Absolutely none!" Chris said, perhaps a little too quickly, yanking down the brim of the oversized hat so that it covered his eyes. "Now then, will Kiko please come up and give her performance so that we may get going? It's a half hour show, ya know." the host reminded them, much to their annoyance.

Kiko frowned and made her way to the back of the stage, signaling for Trey, Mitchell, and Micheal to follow her on. Zelda gave her a suspicious look, but Kiko ignored it as she and her temporary band mates made their way on stage. Before she made on her way out into the spotlight however, a slender arm quickly pulled her into the shadows. Kiko nearly screamed and activated her Animatrix before realizing who is was.

"What do you want, Wilson?" she hissed quietly.

Wilson frowned. "Our little plan's falling apart at the seems. You need to sever all ties between Caroline and Micheal for this work. Because, in case your itty-bitty mind didn't notice, he's the only thing that's standing between you and me getting that sweet mil."

"Fine. And while you're at it, take off that ridiculous get up of yours." she grunted, pushing past him and walking out on stage. Wilson watched from the shadows, and pulled out a handful of fine dust, holding it in front of his face and ready to blow it out on stage when he thought it was needed.

_**Confessional**_

"Kiko serves her purpose for the moment," Wilson said simply, his eyes darkening as he continued. "But the second she becomes a liability, she's going' home!" he cackled, drawing his finger over his throat with a sickening slicing sound. As if that wasn't unsettling enough, his head popped off his shoulders and landed in his lap. As the head cackled maniacally, the body patted around with its hands before finding the head and putting it back on the shoulders, as if nothing had happened. "Neat trick, huh?" Wilson asked with a wicked grin.

_**End Confessional**_

"Hello, all you beautiful judges!" Kiko called out into the microphone, the audience cringing when it whined and shrieked before falling silent once more. "I'll be singing "Forget You" by _Cee Lo Green_. It would have been "**Beep! **You", but the editors would have to edit out have the song."

"Ain't that the truth." Mitchell grumbled behind her. Kiko whirled around to throw him an angered look, the pyro-teen opting to duck behind his recently repaired drum set surrounded by other various percussion equipment. Trey tried to look impervious to Kiko's glare, but ended up trying to hide behind his guitar. Only Micheal, sitting at a grand piano of all things, seemed unaffected and gave Kiko a "hurry up already" gesture with his hand. Kiko frowned as she turned away, Micheal cracking his fingers and striking a few chords on the piano to begin the song, Mitchel beating on a box to start off the percussion section.

"_See you driving 'round town with the guy I love and I'm like 'Forget you'!"_

_"I guess the change in my pocket wasn't enough, I'm like 'Forget you' and forget him too!"_

"_Said, if I was richer, I'd still be with ya. Ha, oh ain't that some ssh!"_

"And although there's pain in my chest, I still wish you the best with a 'Forget you'!"

"_Yeah, I'm sorry, I can't afford a Ferrari, but that don't mean I can't get you there."_

_"I guess he's an X-box, and I'm more Atari, but the way you play your game ain't fair."_

"_I pity the fool that falls in love with you, oh!"_

I've got some news for you. Yeah, go run and tell your little boyfriend."

The audience watched with stunned glory as Kiko sang, not noticing Wilson watching from the shadows with mixed expressions in his eyes. He was incredibly impressed with her singing skills, and from what he could glimpse, she seemed to be singing the song at a certain person, watching her steely gaze trace down to a slightly oblivious Zelda. _All in due time,_he thought with a wicked smirk, slinking off stage under the cover of the shadows.

"_See you driving 'round town with the guy I love and I'm like 'Forget you'!"_

_"I guess the change in my pocket wasn't enough, I'm like 'Forget you' and forget him too!"_

"_Said, if I was richer, I'd still be with ya. Ha, oh ain't that some ssh!"_

"And although there's pain in my chest, I still wish you the best with a 'Forget you'!"

"_Now I know, that I had to borrow, beg and steal and lie and cheat!"_

_"Trying to keep ya, trying to please ya."_

_"'Cause being in love with yo ass ain't cheap!"_

"_I pity the fool that falls in love with you, oh!"_

"I've got some news for you. Ooh, I really hate your ass right now!"

"_See you driving 'round town with the guy I love and I'm like 'Forget you'!"_

_"I guess the change in my pocket wasn't enough, I'm like 'Forget you' and forget him too!"_

"_Said, if I was richer, I'd still be with ya. Ha, oh ain't that some ssh!"_

"And although there's pain in my chest, I still wish you the best with a 'Forget you'!"

_"Ooh, ooh, ooh."_

"_Now baby, baby, baby, why d'you wanna wanna hurt me so bad?" _Kiko sang with an almost pleading look. It was false though, her eyes swirling like pits of venom as she slowly, ever so slowly edged towards the grand piano, her movements so slow, only Wilson seemed to notice them; the witchdoctor was watching it all unfold with great interest, snapping his fingers and summoning a bag of popcorn for him to eat while waiting for things to go South.

_"I tried to tell my mamma but she told me, 'This is one for your dad'!_

"Yes she did."

_"Uh, why? Uh, why? Uh why baby? Oh, I love you! I still love you, oh!"_

Kiko was now right next to the grand piano, leaning it against it with an almost casual posture. Zelda cocked an eyebrow and screwed her eyes as she studied Kiko's look, how she was slowly inching her fingers closer and closer to an oblivious Micheal. She could see the pure evil in her eyes as she was enjoying putting her plan in motion, and Zelda gasped; she had been used all this time, and only now was her brilliant mind realizing it. And if what her incredible brian was telling her was true . . . .

A quick look at Anuok, the girl looking like all hell was about to break lose, and her assumptions were correct. And the worst thing was that she could do nothing bu watch as Kiko continued to edge closer and closer.

"_See you driving 'round town with the guy I love and I'm like 'Forget you'!"_

_"I guess the change in my pocket wasn't enough, I'm like 'Forget you' and forget him too!"_

"_Said, if I was richer, I'd still be with ya. Ha, oh ain't that some ssh!"_

"And although there's pain in my chest, I still wish you the best with a 'Forget you'!"

And then, faster than anyone could blink, protest, or even attempt to stop it from happening, Kiko yanked Micheal off the piano bench and planted a deep kiss on his lips, even going as far as sticking her tongue through his lips and giving him the French Kiss. The entire stage and audience fell completely silent as the two parted, Micheal giving Kiko a swift kick to the shin before frantically looking out over the crowd just in time to see Caroline running off into the woods as fast as she could run, tears streaming down her eyes.

"NO!" Micheal wailed, dropping to his knees and screaming to the sky as Kiko smirked.

"Mission accomplished." she said quietly, walking off stage without another care as Wilson watched with a deep smirk on his face, slowly clapping at Kiko's performance. Not only was Kiko ditching Zelda the Naïve Genius, but she had singlehandedly killed the first relationship to sprout on the wasteland of Pahkitew. _Oh, the irony,_he thought maliciously.

"And with that, the Extreme Eagles are victorious!" Chris announced, flinging off his sombrero without a single worry of his receding hairline.

"What!?" Tajira roared, the crowd giving her a wide berth. "Kiko just destroyed a happy couple! That makes you HAPPY!?" she seethed angrily, visibly foaming at the mouth.

"Yep! And since the Extreme Eagles are the winners, Kiko is safe from the night's elimination!" Chris announced happily, Tajira getting even angrier if that was even possible. A look from her, Maurananei, Mitchell, Toni, Paul, and Trey signaled that Kiko's days were numbered; Micheal however, was simply numb and unresponsive to anything anyone said to him. Eventually, Anuok dragged him off stage, mentally cursing herself for allowing the horrible event to happen.

* * *

><p>The night seemed dimmer, if that was possible. The moon didn't seem to shine as brightly as it did before, and the stars seemed to have lost their twinkle. The bonfire didn't seem as warm and inviting as it used to be, more like it was upset and enraged at the same time, blaming every camper that was unfortunate enough to be in the elimination ceremony for the horrible performances. "When I call your name, come and receive your marshmallow," Chris instructed. "If I do not call your name, you must-"<p>

"Walk down the Dock of Shame and be launched out of the Torpedo of Shame and you can't come back, ever," Micheal recited glumly. "Can we just get on with this?"

Chris frowned, but his expression brightened as he held up a single marshmallow. "Alan, Trey! You're safe." Both boys gladly took their marshmallows, throwing Micheal sympathetic glances as they sat back down.

"Zelda, Wilson." Chris said, tossing Wilson his marshmallow; the boy had ditched his 'witchdoctor costume' for his regular clothes and look, a slightly confused look on his face. Zelda's marshmallow simply bounced off her face as she sulked.

"Three campers left, and only one marshmallow," Chris recited with a grin on his face. "Speaking of which, where's Caroline?"

"Probably bawling her eyes out," Micheal whimpered, clutching his dark hair tightly in his fists, as if trying to rip them free of his head.

"Oh, yeah! You totally just ruined any chance of you two ever getting back together, am I right?" Chris smirked as the Rhinos all shot him glares that would have turned him to stone if looks could have killed. Chris ignored them. "Oh, well. Doesn't matter anyway, seeing as she's safe." he said, popping Caroline's marshmallow into his mouth and chewing. "That means it's down to you two losers." he added, pointing to Tajira and Micheal.

"And the final marshmallow goes to . . ."

Tajira narrowed her eyes and folded her arms across her chest, as if daring Chris to say Micheal's name in front of her. She wasn't ready to go home, not like this. She had so little going for her, and she had so much more potential! It couldn't end like this!

Micheal sighed heavily and buried his head into his arms, holding his pounding skull with his fingertips as Zelda reached out with cautious fingers and rubbed his back, trying to make him feel better; in reality though, she was trying to comfort herself as well, for she knew that Kiko would not remain quiet for much longer. Sooner than they all thought, there would soon be Hell on Earth.

"Micheal." Chris finally said, tossing the watch wearer his marshmallow and watching without a care as it bounced off his head and into the bonfire pit, instantly turning black and disintegrating into dark ash. While most of the campers seemed relieved or indifferent, Tajira was furious.

"WHAT!? YOU VOTED FOR ME!?" she screamed.

_**Confessional**_

"Since nobody on our team really deserved to go home, Micheal least of all people, I definetly had to go with the scariest person out there," Alan admitted sadly. "Sorry, Tajira."

_**Change Confessional**_

"I'm not saying I'm scared of Tajira," Trey began shivering slightly. "But I'd like to keep my kiwis intact at the moment."

_**End Confessional**_

Chris watched as Chef picked up Tajira without a care, easily holding the screaming and thrashing girl as he marched down the dock and hopped into the submarine. There came a slight scuffling sound as the submarine shook a bit, the sound of breaking furniture drawing concerned looks from the campers before the submarine fired off a screaming torpedo into the distance.

"Well, it's definitely been the most dramatic bonfire ceremony yet," Chris concluded. "Will Kiko survive to the finale? Will Micheal and Caroline get over themselves? And what the heck is up with Alan? Find out next time on Total! Drama! Pahkitew's Vengeance!"

**And that's it! Memo to self, never write another karaoke challenge.**

**Thank you to everyone who submitted a so g for their OC to sing. There sure were a lot of them! As I have nothing else to say, I must ask you to comment, review, suggest, and request below and tell me what you think is going to happen next chapter. I assure you, it will be nothing like Total Drama has ever faced before! And yes, we will find out what happened in Nigeria next Aftermath.**

**Hasta Luego!**


	10. Hide and be Sneaky 2: Watch Wars Edition

**Hey, sorry this took so long to write. I've been sick for the past three weeks and have not been well enough to have even begun to write the beginning of this chapter. And with all the school work I've had to catch up on, it's not been a pleasant month.**

**Then again, that's what I have yous guys and gals for. I honestly would not have written this story had I not gotten some beautiful, wonderful, and down right funny reviews and comments about the past chapter. So, here I am now.**

**Oh, before I forget! The challenge idea for this chapter came from a reader by the name of _Nomnomasaur_. Give them a round of applause!**

**As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!**

**Onwards!**

"Last time, on Total Drama: Pahkitew's Vengeance! In a challenge where each member of opposing team had to get up on stage and sing their hearts out, we found some surprising things about our contestants; Alan actually knows how to sing, Maurananei can actually survive without her man, and Kiko is full of surprises. And, in an ironic twist that pulled at the heart strings, Kiko ended Micheal and Caroline's sweet relationship with a simple kiss!" Chris announced. "But it was Tajira, not Kiko and her fully functional Animatrix, that went home!"

"Will Wilson's plan succeeded? Just how long can Kiko keep things under wraps? And will Micheal and Caroline ever get back together before the season ends?" Chris asked the camera with a smug grin. "I seriously doubt it. But, that doesn't mean you should! So stick around for the more dramatic bonfire ceremony yet! On Total! Drama! Pahkitew's Vengeance!"

_**(theme song plays)**_

The mood around the camp was depressing, to say the least.

No one had spoken much after the events of the last challenge, not even for the three days they had to themselves. Those times were spent in near total silence and isolation from each other; Wilson, back to normal after the last challenge, was utterly confused to what had happened and had been trying to find someone, anyone would explain what had happened to him; Toni and Paul had been spending most of the time together, simply enjoying each others company and too worried for their friends to get passionate; Alan had unconsciously been spending more and more time with Maurananei, who actually seemed to enjoy the moments she shared with the awkward, little pervert. When he wasn't tempted to stare at her that is; Trey was usually found by himself, playing his guitar down by the beach; Zelda was desperately searching for Kiko, though she often questioned herself why she was doing so when Kiko clearly disowned her during the challenge; Mitchell had mostly been on his own or with Anuok, trying to help her find their missing friends with little success.

In fact, Micheal and Caroline seemed to have disappeared altogether without leaving a trace of evidence to their whereabouts. Even Chris and Chef, who had eyes everywhere watching the contestants from every angle, didn't seem to have a clue where they were, though they could only confirm they were still on the island for unknown reasons; Anuok had her suspicions, but decided not to push it.

Kiko was the only one who simply wasn't under the weather, and it wasn't hard to guess why. Not only had her secret alliance with Zelda paid off, but she had separated the power couple of the season with ease, and it was all thanks to the little, purple watch that sat on her wrist. And she was enjoying every minute of it. When she wasn't dodging the food that was thrown at her during meals or ignoring the poisonous glares the other contestants gave her, she could often be found using her new weapon in secret; and the fact was that she didn't care.

No matter how many trays of mystery meat she had to run from, no matter how many times she often found fire ants in her bed, she never once in the least felt sorry about what she had done. Not even the lonesome cries of a wolf off in the distance could deter her. And the thing was, those howls had only started after the challenge she had won in.

_**Confessional**_

"I can't say I approve of what Kiko did," Maurananei began. "Okay, I totally don't approve of it. I may be heartless and rather rough at times, but I don't bother with relationships. Next time we lose, she's going home."

_**Change Confessional**_

"When I get my claws on Kiko, the doctor won't know what side to sow her traitorous lips back on!" Toni roared.

_**Change Confessional**_

"Normally I'm not a vengeful guy," Mitchell said rather uncomfortably; whether this was due to the smell of the outhouse or strictly how he was feeling was up to debate. "But I swear, I am going make Kiko's remaining days here a living hell." he finished darkly, a ball of flame appearing in his hand. Only then, did he realize his mistake as a sudden explosion filled the outhouse, destroying the camera.

_**End Confessional**_

"What was that?" Alan wondered aloud. He and Maurananei, simply enjoying each others company because there was nothing else to do, were out on the lake paddling a canoe around in aimless circles.

"I dunno, but that sounded like an explosion of some kind if I ever heard one," Maurananei replied, dipping her oar in the water. "And let me just say that I've heard plenty before I came onto this show."

"Do ya think Chef might be getting a bit more . . . experimental . . . with his cooking?" Alan asked fearfully.

"If that **BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! **knows what's good for him, he won't." Maurananei growled, her grip tightening around her oar until it suddenly snapped in half and both ends fell into the lake.

Alan gulped. "Uh, I'm no expert on people's emotions, but I'm pretty sure you're upset about something." he observed.

"Is it that obvious?"

"It was even more obvious when you threw your lunch back at Chef and forced his head into the vat of stuff he was trying to feed us." Alan replied, turning the canoe away from the island and trying to push it forward; it was rather ineffective considering they only had one paddle.

"All I can say is, he better be glad he's only number two on my list of people I hate right now." Maurananei frowned, folding her arms over her bust; Alan averted his eyes, wanting to remain in one piece and not suffer a fate worse than what Reese had gone through.

"Yeah, I can't believe Kiko would go that far," Alan muttered. "I haven't seen any sign of Caroline since the challenge, and Micheal just vanished after the bonfire."

"Can't Toni just change into a dog or something and pick up their scent?" Maurananei wondered.

Alan shook his head. "Tried that right after the fire; she can't get anything on them. It's as if they never existed and all that's left are memories."

"What about Ms. See-into-the-Future?"

"Anuok hasn't found anything. And if she has, she isn't saying anything."

"She never says anything, you idiot." Maurananei said with a small smile.

Alan feigned injury. "Oh, you hurt me with your jest! I shall die right here and now!" he said with mock drama. Maurananei cracked a smile and stole the oar away from him, turning the canoe around and heading back to shore.

"What, you don't like my acting?" Alan pouted.

Maurananei shook her head. "Nah, just hungry."

"Think you can manage to keep your food on your tray this time?" Alan joked.

Maurananei rolled her eyes. "I am never going back there. I'm just gonna eat what I find in the woods. I mean, the original Pahkitew cast did it, so it can't be that hard. Man, I wish I had some fish right now." she muttered to herself after hearing her bellowing stomach. As if granted a magic wish from an invisible genie, a massive salmon was thrown out of the water and smacked Alan in the face, dropping to the bottom of the boat where it flopped about as the two contestants starred at it, stunned.

"Wow. Can you call 'em, or can you call 'em?" Alan grinned as Maurananei furiously whacked the dying fish over the head with her oar to put it out of its misery. It was only then that they noticed that their canoe was slowly but steadily moving back to the shore by itself, like someone was pushing it.

"Look!" Alan suddenly exclaimed, pointing behind them. Maurananei jerked her head up from the salmon to see a large, green fin sticking up out of the water behind the boat, looking like it belonged to some kind of large fish. The fin then seemed to realize it was noticed and quickly slipped beneath the surface of the water. Alan looked over the side to see something the size of a large man moving beneath the surface before quickly swimming away from the boat and off into the distance, where a large creature leaped out of the water in a wet spray. It was rather far away, but Alan could swear the large sea creature had a fish's tail, a pair of muscled arms, and a mouth full of razor sharp teeth that looked capable of ripping clean through steel with ease.

"Was that-" Maurananei began, stunned.

"Quick! Get back to shore! We've gotta tell the others!" Alan exclaimed. Without hesitation, Maurananei thrust her oar into the water and powered them to shore, not stopping when they crashed onto the beach and easily powering the canoe across the sand, up the shore, and into the campgrounds with Alan at the helm, pointing forward. All in all, it was pretty comical.

* * *

><p>"So lemme get this straight," Toni began as she forcefully dragged towards the docks by Maurananei with Alan and Paul jogging behind them, trying to keep up. "You were out on the lake and wished for some fish, when a fish suddenly fell from the sky, given to you by Micheal?"<p>

"No," Maurananei corrected her. I was out on the lake and wished for some fish when a fish _from the lake _fell into the boat. And yes, I'm pretty sure Micheal gave it to us."

"Why would he do that?" Toni asked as they finally came to a stop on the dock.

"I dunno, but you have to find him before he gets away! And quickly!" Maurananei roared, shoving the girl into the water with a splash. Normally, Toni would have done the same thing back, but she decided to let the movement slide and instead focused on an image in her head. And the changes soon began.

The first thing that happened was her skin. It went from a smooth, slightly rough mocha brown to a shiny, rubbery gray in color and texture. Her skull began to scrunch and compress as her jawbones began to bulge outward into a bottle-nose beak as her arms were slowly being sucked back into her body, looking like dried out pieces of spaghetti with massive hands hanging limp from them. Her organs started to slosh and grow and shrink inside her as her skeleton ground and crunched against itself. A triangular dorsal fin started to sprout out from the middle of her back as her arms disappeared altogether, leaving just her hands to move feebly at her side. Her spine began to stretch out as her hands became larger and more triangular in shape, her fingers fusing together into smooth flippers as the dorsal fin got bigger and slightly rounded at the tip. Her left leg suddenly wrapped itself around her right leg, like a coil of rope; it looked painful and it should have been excruciating, but for some reason it wasn't. All of it was completely painless.

Her snout continued to move outwards a few centimeters at a time now as her teeth became sharper and more cone-shaped. Her nose was sucked into her as her eyes rotated to either side of her head, giving her a wider range of vision. Not that it mattered; her eyesight wasn't exactly the greatest. She felt an opening, a hole of sorts suddenly appear in her neck, connecting itself to her lungs as a flap kept the hole shut tight, preventing any air from escaping as she continued to morph. Her legs were now fused together into a single limb as her feet became flat and fleshy, forming into triangles that ran horizontally in the water. The final piece of her transformation was her head, as her skull was pushed forward by her massive brain. It only grew slightly bigger than her human brain, but it was far more adept where underwater survival was concerned.

Toni blinked her new eyes and furiously pumped her tail, pushing herself towards the surface where she could see the sparkling sunlight from beneath the waves. And then suddenly, she was out of the water and into the slightly warm air of the surface, a good half a dozen feet out of the water as the hole on her head instinctively opened and sucked in some air as she clicked and whistled happily, her friends watching from the docks with happy and wistful looks. She reentered the water with a splash before pumping her tail and leaping out of the water again, waving a flipper as she came back down again. With a cheerful laugh that could only be made by one animal on the planet, the bottlenose dolphin swam away from the shore, filling the water with low frequency clicks and whistles, a sonar of sorts, that she was using to search her surroundings. Toni sent out a low burst of clicks and razes, the sound passing through her melon and out into the water. A few minutes later, she felt a tingling sensation in her jawbone as the vibrations came back and traveled to her inner ear. A sudden image appeared in her head, a black and white picture of her surroundings. She repeated the process much more quickly now and sooner got a much more clearer image in her head, something like a very old black and white flip book.

To her left were some rocks and shallower water leading to the shore. To her right was deeper water and school of fish. In front of her was the empty expanse of the lake, with not much in it; she opted to continue moving forward, twisting her head from side to side to widen her vision in the hopes of finding her friend.

She searched for what seemed like hours circling around the lake, using her echolocation to search the lake around the island; she had little success. In what success she did find, all she was able to do was get fuzzy images in her head of a large creature moving off at the very end of her vision. By the time she was able to get far enough to possible pick it up on her radar, it was long gone. With a mental sigh, she beat her tail against the lake bottom and pushed towards the surface, breaking the liquid barrier and sucking in air without the usual glorious leap she had enjoyed before.

She concentrated on another image in her head and felt the changes quickly begin. Arms suddenly sprouted from her sides, her dolphin flippers stuck at the end as her new, human arms thickened and grew muscles as her flipper separated into five digits of varying lengths. Her pointed snout crunched back into her face, becoming flat once more as her human lips and teeth emerged. The dorsal fin retracted into her back as the hole in her head filled with flesh as her nose came back into existence. With what little strength she had, she pumped her still dolphin tail and broke the surface once more, sucking in precious air as her changing eyes rotated towards the front of her face. Her tail suddenly split in half into two strong legs that grew fat at the end as bones started to grow within them, ten toes in all sprouting at the ends. Her rubbery, gray skin turned mocha brown once more as fine, dark brown hair sprouted from her scalp as her outfit thankfully returned to her.

Now that that was out of the way, she focused on a second image in her head. Her mocha skin began to horribly blister as feather patterns formed all over her body, thousands of quills suddenly popping out at the same time. Her head, back, chest, arms, legs, all of them suddenly sprouted feathers like she in a stop-action film of plants growing. Her lips grew as hard as fingernails, pouting outwards into a sharp, hooked beak. Her arms and fingers stretched outwards, her fingers molding together into fine points as the joints in her arms loudly repositioned themselves. She was shrinking all the while, her toes all molding together in three larger ones that were perfectly for grasping things as sharp, hooked talons formed on the ends. Her heel ground and shifted as a fourth toe grew out from behind her, also sporting a razor sharp talon as her feet and ankles hardened and became krusty. Long tail feathers sprouted from the base of her spine as a small bump of flesh on her butt became her tail as her feathers turned black on top and snowy white and gray under her. Flight feathers suddenly popped into existence on her arms, completing the transformation as her eyes turned golden and sharpened to almost a thousand times better than they were before.

With several quick flaps of her large wings and kicks of her taloned feet, the osprey took to the air, shaking its wings to get the excess water out of them as it flapped them to gain altitude. Soon, she was soaring over the island with her six foot wingspan, staring downwards towards the water. Unlike most birds of prey, unless they happened to eat a lot of fish, ospreys had eyes specially designed to see beneath the surface of the lake as it flew overhead, perfect for spotting schools of fish. And once a fish was found, it could tuck in its wings and dive towards the water before suddenly kicking its feet and slamming into the fish, digging its talons into the flesh and lifting off of the water with its prize.

In a way, she was also searching for a fish. Or something like a fish. Based on Alan and Maurananei's descriptions, Micheal had turned into the fish-man that she had seen on their first day on the island. That day seemed so long ago, when they were all so new to each other and uncomfortable around each other. Now, it seemed like they had almost known each other for a life time. She had become friends with virtually everyone, and this worried her a little. What would become of them after their wild ride on Total Drama ended? What would happen to her friendships? Her relationship with Paul? Would she be forgotten so easily like a few of the previous Total Drama contestants had?

Her thoughts were shaken from her when movement caught her eye. It wasn't in the water, no it was far above it. She focused her sharp eyes on the iconic 1,001 foot tall cliff that towered over the island, giving it the iconic look that everyone had come to know. Amongst the sparse trees that covered its slope, she could see a figure slowly walking up the mountain towards the very edge. She pumped her wings and steered herself in for a closer look, her eyes quickly picking up who it was; the oversized sweatshirt was unmistakable.

She watched, curious, as Caroline walked to the very edge of the cliff and paused, watching a few stray pebbles tumble over the edge and into the surf below with almost microscopic splashes; Toni saw it all in high definition. And what happened next nearly threw her out of the sky.

Caroline jumped off the cliff.

With a loud screech, Toni tucked in her wings and shot off after the tumbling girl as she fell closer and closer to the water below. The tide was out, leaving the shore mostly barren with small pools scattered here and there. Mostly however, there very big, very hard rocks covering the shoreline beneath the cliff. Her mind racing, Toni quickly caught up with Caroline's falling form and saw every detail of the small girl with her sharp eyes. Everything from her long, wavy brown hair that rushed past her red face to her closed eyes. Her body was completely loose and limp, as if she had given up absolutely everything in life. And she most likely had.

But not if Toni had anything to say about it. Another loud screech escaped from her black beak and she stuck out her legs, sinking her talons into the soft material of Caroline's sweatshirt. She glanced down at the girl and noticed she hadn't moved at all. Ignoring Caroline, Toni opened her wings and nearly felt them torn out of their sockets from the amount of force being pushed down on her. She fruitlessly flapped her wings, struggling to slow Caroline's fall as the ground edged closer and closer. It was hopeless though; raptors were built to glide, not power. Now out of ideas, she opened her wings and turned them horizontal, allowing the wind and air to push up on them gain her a little altitude. She turned her body and Caroline towards the right, thanking her lucky stars there was strong wind that pushed her towards the forest. It wasn't enough to prevent injury, but with luck they would both live. The ground came closer and closer until it was only a few feet beneath her. Toni had no choice but to let go, and she released her hold on Caroline's sweatshirt, the snap back almost sending her into unconsciousness as her wings were nearly, very nearly, retched out of their sockets. She recovered and watched as Caroline tumbled to the ground, rolling for a couple yards before crashing into the trunk of a large tree, not even moving the entire time.

Worry now coursed through her as she soared down to the ground and landed on the soft grass. She focused on her human self and felt the changes begin as her feathers sucked into her body. She shot straight upwards, her legs becoming terrifyingly long compared to the rest of her body as they bent forward into the familiar joints. Her arm reconstructed itself as fingers formed on the ends and the flight feathers disappeared. Her talons split into five toes, her fourth talon sucking back into her foot and becoming her heel once more as hooked beak pushed back in on itself and formed soft lips as her head became large bulbous. Her clothes reappeared on her body as the last of her feathers disappeared and her golden colored eyes turned light brown.

She bent down and picked up Caroline's frail form in her hands, holding her ear to her chest and sighing with relief when she heard a steady beat. She held her close as Caroline buried her head into her shoulder and started to sob uncontrollably, soaking the clothing. Toni didn't care as she rubbed the girl's back and whispered kind words into her ears as the elements raged around them in their usual manner.

"Why?" Caroline managed to croak; her throat was dry and her eyes were red and puffy from so much crying.

"Why what?" Toni asked.

"Why did you save me?" Caroline sniffed.

"Anyone with any sense would have saved you," Toni told her. "Now tell me, why in the name of God's green earth did you decide to commit suicide?"

Caroline turned silent for a minute, casting her eyes down towards the ground as Toni continued to hold her. "Because I've got nothing left to live for," she eventually said. "All the kids bully me at school, my parents completely ignore me unless they want me to do something for them, and my boyfriend just cheated on me on international television. What else have I got to lose?" she sniffed, tucking her legs tight up against her chest and hugging herself as she sobbed once more.

"What about us? Your friends here on the island?" Toni asked.

"Like anyone would want to keep in contact with me." Caroline's muffled voice came. "I'm just an animal loving loser that nobody cares about!"

"But I do care about you! We all do!" Toni protested.

"Oh, sure. If we went to the same high school together you'd probably want to hang out with me." Caroline sniffed sarcastically, eventually raising her head to look at Toni with tear stained cheeks.

"I would!" Toni assured her.

"How do I know you're not lying? How do I know you aren't just saying this so you'll drag me into an alliance? How do I know you won't treat me like garbage like everyone else has, huh? Answer me that!" Caroline cried, fresh tears streaming down her cheeks again.

Toni paused. How could she prove to Caroline she wasn't lying? She liked the girl, she really did. She was a kind, sweet person who loved animals as much as she did. How could she possible prove to someone who had been hurt and ridiculed her whole life that she was different?

Then, on an impulse to simply prove to crying girl wrong, Toni lunged forward and pinned Caroline to the ground with the stature of a hungry lion, pinning her shoulders and legs to ground and restricting her movement as she attempted to move. Toni ignored the screams of mercy Caroline cried as she bent down towards her head, a glint in her eyes.

"Don't move." she instructed in a low voice that sent a shiver down Caroline's spine when it was whispered into her ear. Toni then moved a little lower, towards Caroline's neck and chose a section that wouldn't cause any injury to her main system. She opened her mouth and probed the fleshy skin with the tip of her tongue, recoiling at the taste of human flesh but pushing herself on. Once she found a suitable spot, she opened her mouth wide and grew her canines a little longer and sharper.

And then she bit Caroline.

The girl didn't move as Toni sank her teeth into her neck, merely only gasping as Toni twisted her head slightly. The teeth sunk deep into her skin, waves of pain coursing through her body as Toni did her work. The shape-shifter hated the taste of blood, but what she was doing to Caroline was necessary. She loosened her jaws a little and dipped the tip of her tongue into the red tissue, her tongue soaking up the blood like a sponge before she retracted it back into her mouth; her human half hated the taste, but her other half, the animal side of her, relished it. It wanted more, but Toni quickly suppressed the urge to continue feeding.

She then climbed off of Caroline and allowed the girl to climb to her feet and edge away a few feet to stare at her with confusion and fear in her eyes.

"This is a sign of trust in my family," Toni began. "That bite will easily heal, but it will permanently scar. The venom will assure that."

"Venom?" Caroline trembled.

"Don't worry. Completely harmless," Toni brushed it off. "But this will signal to all that know it that you are my life-long friend and that I will never abandon you for any reason. I will forever be friends with you, for as long as I live, and anyone that hurts you will know my wrath. That I will make sure of," Toni practically recited. "This is my ultimate sign of trust."

Caroline stared wide-eyed at Toni, completely stunned, but the shape-shifter wasn't done yet. "In order for the ceremony, so to speak, to be complete, you must repeat the action. Only then can I truly trust you and you trust me." Toni said, cocking her head to the side, exposing a large patch of fresh skin for Caroline to bite as she waited.

"Um, what?"

"Bite me." Toni said simply, waiting.

"You seriously want me to bite you?" Caroline sniffed, wiping her eyes.

Toni patiently nodded her head; indeed, the idea sounded a little odd, but if she was ever going to get Caroline to ease up, she needed to trust someone and except that she had a friend for life. And who knows? She might decide to extend the offer to their other friends.

"Are you sure?" Caroline asked cautiously, ready to be turned down like always. Toni nodded her head a second time, pointing out she had already bitten Caroline. Her body trembling, Caroline edged forward and up to Toni, who didn't move a muscle as Caroline moved her head towards her neck. "Wait, I don't have any fangs or venom like you do." Caroline suddenly remembered.

"It will scar on my skin anyways," Toni simply said. "Now hurry up before Chris ruins the moment."

Caroline nodded her head and hesitated for a brief moment before biting Toni's neck as furiously as possible, which really wasn't much; to Toni, it like being bitten by a mosquito. As Caroline attempted to at least draw blood like her friend had done, Toni remained perfectly still, patiently waiting as Caroline suddenly tensed and Toni could feel something warm starting to drip from her neck.

"Drink some," Toni instructed. "It may sound gross, but that's how it's done."

She felt Caroline's tongue edge out between her teeth and tentatively lick the wound before shooting back into her mouth, the precious liquid sliding her throat rather uncomfortably. She then quickly scrambled off of Toni after realizing she had been hovering rather uncomfortably over her for a few awkward seconds.

"So, we're now friends?" Caroline asked shakily.

"For as long as we live," Toni agreed, pulling the startled girl into a hug. Caroline froze for a few seconds before returning the gesture, relishing how good it felt to finally, after so many years of hatred, bitterness, and utter betrayal, to finally have a friend. And for life, for that matter.

* * *

><p>"Where the heck are they?" Chris wondered aloud, tapping his foot with incredible impatience. It had been nearly a half hour since he had called the contestants to meet him at the bonfire, and only Paul, Mitchell, and Zelda had actually shown up. Paul, ever loyal to his girl, was slightly concerned, constantly glancing towards the sky for any sign of his girlfriend. Mitchell, bored as ever, as simply spinning three flaming coals around his fingers without a care in the world. And Zelda, for some reason, looked like she was about to drop dead.<p>

_**Confessional**_

"I knew I should have installed a locking mechanism when I had the chance," Zelda yawned. "Every time I try to get close to Kiko, she always changes form and gets away before I can get anywhere near her. And it's not just that; the more she uses that thing, the more the pure savagery and raw power will corrupt her until she'll destroy anything in sight." she sighed with a worry. "I would ask for help from the others, but they'll be so mad at me, especially Micheal! He trusted me, and what did I do? I go and build a copy of his most prized possession behind his back for some psychopath!"

_**End Confessional**_

Just when it seemed Chris was going to lose it, the other contestants finally arrived. Toni emerged from the forest with a nervous Caroline, who refused to travel anywhere without Toni between her and what was ahead; Paul immediately jumped from his seat and ran over to his girlfriend, pulling her into a hug and pecking her on the cheek as Caroline watched wistfully. Maurananei and Alan trudged up from the beach, a rather large salmon over Maurananei's shoulders as Trey came out from the woods, a rather tired and bored expression on his face as he plopped down on a log and absentmindedly began to tune his guitar. Anuok dropped down from a tree with a deadpanned look on her face that turned into mix of relief and shock when she caught sight of Caroline hiding behind Toni and Paul; Wilson came skipping up from the beach, a happy, go-lucky smile on his face as he sat down on a barrel. And then she came.

Kiko sauntered out of the woods with the biggest of smirks on her face as she walked over to the bonfire. She ignored the glares she received from the other contestants, absentmindedly ducking low to the ground as Trey swung his guitar to try and hit her. She paid no attention to the violent gesture and merely sat down on a stump, crossing her leg over her thigh and polishing her nails with a nonchalant look; nobody noticed that she kept her left wrist dug deep into her pocket.

_**Confessional**_

"What a bunch of losers," Kiko scoffed. "I can't believe nobody's noticed my Animatrix yet. Shows how observant they are. Am I worried that Zelda will tell the others? Not in the slightest; she's too worried about what they'll do to her if they find out what she's done, so my secret is safe. And when the time comes?" Kiko asked before drawing a finger across her throat with a sickening, slicing sound.

_**End Confessional**_

"Now that everyone has graced us with their presence," Chris continued in an annoyed tone before brightening up. "It's time to start today's challenge!"

"Wait! Micheal isn't here!" Mitchell protested.

"Don't care!" Chris frowned. "Today's challenge is the classic game of hide and seek."

"Again? You are seriously losing your touch, McLean." Kiko huffed, ignoring the glares thrown at her by the rest of the cast. Chris merely chuckled at the comment, a sound that sent shivers down everyone's spine; generally when Chris wasn't bothered by an insult thrown at him, it couldn't be good for anyone else other than him.

"Ah, but this time it'll be different," Chris announced. "Seeing as all of you are freaks in your own right, we'll be making this time around a little different. This time, you'll be _handcuffed together_!" Chris cried happily as the contestants yelled and protested, but the sadistic host would hear none of it. "The rules are the same as from Season 1: avoid getting blasted by Chef from his water blaster and get to the lifeguard chair at the end of the dock." Chris instructed, pointing towards the rickety looking lifeguard as a seagull landed on the seat. The seagull lasted exactly thirty seconds before a massive tentacle shot out of the water and wrapped itself around the chair and pulled into the lake.

"Um, on second thought, you'll have to make to the buoy way over yonder." Chris added, pointing towards a derelict buoy a couple hundred yards off shore. The contestants groaned further as Chris produced six pairs of handcuffs and proceeded to handcuff the teens together.

"Why exactly are we chained together?" Maurananei grumbled, holding up both of her wrists, which were chained to Caroline and Alan. Both smaller teens were pulled up into the air by Maurananei as Chris continued to explain the rules. "Now then, a quick review of the rules. The object of the challenge is to stay hidden from Chef while making your way to the buoy off shore. Once you touch the buoy, you're safe."

"What happens if we get found by Chef?" Trey asked, raising his hand and consequently pulling Mitchell's arm up with him.

"If you can't avoid his blast, you must help him find other players. If you find them, that means you are back in the game and Chef must close his eyes and count to ten." Chris explained as Chef, holding a massive water pistol, grumbled and folded his arms over his chest. "And with his military background and advanced degree in man-hunting, he is guaranteed to make this game excruciatingly _hard_." Chris added with a grin.

"Ooh, so we're gonna get sprayed by a little bit of water!" Kiko said sarcastically with a healthy dose of mockery in her voice.

"Yes, yes you will," Chris grinned maliciously. "Watch as he demonstrates."

Kiko smiled wickedly and covered her ears and eyes; she had seen the hide and seek episode, and was fully expecting Chef to blast Chris a good dozen yards away with his water pistol and avoid soaking her and Zelda altogether. Unfortunately for her, Chef had other ideas when he pulled the trigger on his water gun and blasted the unlucky girls with a tidal wave of water, sending them flying through the air and into the arms of a pine tree, which they fell down numerous branches and eventually were left dangling twenty feet above the forest floor a good twenty yards away from the cast.

"Too far away to be seen," Kiko said to herself as she grunted and reached with her free hand for the Animatrix on her exposed left wrist; she didn't know how Chris managed not to see it in the first place. Or maybe he did and thought it was a better idea to keep a secret. Whatever the reason, the Animatrix was still fixed to her wrist. And against Zelda's wanrings, Kiko activated it and was engulfed in a flash of purple light.

A hulking Nisilaha took Kiko's place and gripped the tree trunk with two of its four arms and hauled itself up into the branch before easily pulling Zelda up with one hand. While the alien was indeed similar to Micheal's form, there were differences, most notably the attire and stature of Kiko. While Micheal was incredibly buffed and the picture of health (by Nisilaha standards), Kiko was noticeably smaller and slimmer than him, have an hour glass figure and less muscled arms than Micheal. She wore a pair of black shorts with purple trimmings with a purple and white belt around her waist that separated her shorts from her black and purple tank top that exposed her midriff. Two pairs of fingerless gloves were enclosed around her hands and she had a curtain of raven black hair on her head, where Micheal was normally bald.

"You really shouldn't use the watch all that much," Zelda warned her. "It could have unforseen consequences."

"Why should I listen to you?" Kiko barked, easily yanking Zelda up to her eye level and glaring at with all four of her golden colored eyes. "Besides, Micheal can use his Animatrix whenever he wants!"

"That's because he has the complete version!" Zelda yelled.

"What did I tell you before?" the Nisilaha growled, drawing her closer to her face so that they were less than an inch apart.

"N-never t-talk back." Zelda stammered.

"Exactly. Fortunately for you, I will let this little _incident _slide," Kiko growled. "Just remember that I could easily kill you."

"Y-yes, master." Zelda whimpered. Kiko steely nodded her head and jumped off the branch and down to the ground, carelessly letting Zelda fall on her face as the Animatrix timed out and returned Kiko to her human form, just before Chef came trudging up the hill to take them back, an annoyed look on his face.

Meanwhile, Chris was finishing explaining the rules to the rest of the contestants. "Remember! Avoid being found and make it to the buoy to be safe! First team with the most members safe wins. Now, are there any questions?"

"Yeah, what's to keep us from slipping out these things anyway?" Toni asked, holding up her and Paul's assigned pair of handcuffs. "Most of forms could either easily slip out of these things or bust right through them!"

"Ah, but these little babies will grow or shrink with whatever form you take!" Chris chirped happily. "Turns out the kid who invented the Virtual Reality machine is also a topnotch inventor too. Asked him to make these for us." he grinned as Toni pouted.

Wilson raised his free hand, reading a message Anuok had scribbled out for him to read. "Uh, what about Micheal?"

Chris frowned at the mention of the contestant who had caused him so much trouble over the season; destroying his cottage (some continued to argue it was a mansion), constantly threatening his health and life, causing millions in property damage were but a few of the issues Micheal had caused Chris over the course of the season. "Anyone who finds and captures the shape-shifting, watch-wearing freak known as Micheal instantly wins it for their team. Now, you have exactly five minutes to hide before Chef comes hunting for you. Now go!" Chris ordered, letting out a loud blare from his air horn as the contestants all yelled and scrambled in different directions, all searching for a place to hide.

* * *

><p>Paul and Toni jogged through the forest, panting and pumping their arms fiercely as they ran through the woods, trying to put as much distance between them and their psychopathic hunter as possible. As leaves crunched under their shoes and branches slapped at their face, Paul tried to keep his eyes ahead of him, but he found it near impossible. As much as he wanted to admire Toni's beauty right now, he knew he needed to focus on the challenge. But he couldn't keep his eyes off of her. Or, to more specific, a rather crude looking, scabby ring of half-healed flesh on her neck. The wound looked rather frightening, and he more than concerned for his girlfriend. He was about to ask her about it when they ran around a tree in opposite directions. The chain that joined their handcuffs together was caught on the tree trunk and forced both of them to run towards the other, both of the slamming face first into each other before slumping to the ground.<p>

"Ow . . ." Toni moaned.

"I think I just lost a tooth," Paul groaned, blood dribbling down from his lip. He blinked his eyes to try and clear his vision and ended up looking at Toni's face, which was a dark shade of red, earthy brown. Paul cocked and eyebrow, following her eyes before yelping and jumping to his feet, yanking his hands off of her breasts faster than most people could blink.

"I swear I-" Paul cried before Toni put her lips to his, silencing him and breaking apart after a few heated seconds.

"I know," she replied with a small smile. "Now hold still." she then instructed. Paul did as he was told as Toni's eyes flashed a venomous yellow and became reptilian in appearance, her brown iris's turning into black slits. Her teeth sharpened into fangs, and her skin turned a rough brown that almost looked like scales. The changes stopped there as Toni edged her head to Paul's neck, a long, forked tongue slipping out between her jaws and gently tracing itself around the skin. Paul shivered, but remained still as instructed, even when Toni suddenly lunged forward and savagely bit into her boyfriend's flesh. Like with Caroline, she sank her teeth in deep and twisted her head to further enhance the wound before dipping her tongue into the blood and pulling away, her fangs stained pink as she shifted back to her human form.

"What was that about?" Paul asked after a few awkward moments, bringing a hand up to the wound.

"Its a sort of tradition in my family," Toni explained. "When we come across someone we trust and love, we give them this mark to let others know it. You and Caroline are technically now family to me."

"Uh, okay?" Paul said awkwardly. To be honest, he had no idea how to feel. He felt both honored and slightly weirded out, but it was Toni; he trusted her more than anyone, and she clearly trusted him as well. "Wait, Caroline's in on this too?"

Toni nodded her head. "She tried to kill herself only an hour ago. Not only was she in serious need of comfort, but I couldn't help but do it. Besides, she isn't exactly a lair." she smiled.

"If you say so," Paul nodded. "Biting rituals aside, shouldn't we be running for our lives right about now?"

Toni blinked before slapping herself upside the head. "Duh! How could I have forgotten?" she berated herself. "Now hold still and don't freak out."

"Are you going to bite me again?" Paul joked.

Toni rolled her eyes and focused on an image in her head; the changes soon followed. A light coat of fur sprouted all over her body, remaining the same mocha brown color as her skin as her arms were sucked back into her shoulders like pieces of spaghetti, leaving her hands to be perked on her shoulders, frozen like that as other changes continued. Her black hair ran down her neck and between her shoulder blades like river as her face bulged outwards into a pointed, rounded muzzle. Her teeth became square and flat, perfect for grinding up plant material as her eyes rotated to either side of her head. Her ears migrated up to the top of her head and became pointed as muscled built themselves up around her chest. A pair of equestrian legs suddenly burst out of her gut like some alien nightmare as her hand finally slithered into her shoulders that moved down toa bove her new legs with a grinding sound. Her toes fused together into a single toe, a hard covering surrounding her changed feet, forming a solid hoof as her clothes vanished off her body. Her new form ground and shifted into its final state as a tail made entirely of long, black hairs sprouted out from the base of her spine.

"Alright then." Paul marveled at the brown mare that stood over him, the pair handcuff indeed having grown and somehow shifting to be around the horse's neck like a leash. Without protest, Paul climbed onto Toni's back before the horse reared into the air and took off at a brisk gallop through the trees.

* * *

><p>"Would you mind slowing down!?" Alan cried as he and Caroline were dragged across the beach by Maurananei. The greaser barely even registered that the other two were even chained to her as she ran as fast as she could, skidding to a stop and letting them get up. Alan climbed to his feet, spitting out a mouthful of sand as Caroline shook her head, shaking a bucketful of sand free from her head as Maurananei rested on a rock.<p>

"So, where the heck do we hide?" Maurananei asked.

"We try what Leshawna did last season," Alan suggested. "How are you two at holding your breath?"

Caroline frowned. "One thing you're forgetting Alan: we're chained together, and we're girls. You're a boy."

Alan looked confused for a moment before realization crossed his face amongst a furious dark red. "Okay, um, anyone else got an idea?" he asked sheepishly. Maurananei tapped her chin, deep in thought. It was hard to think however, when her eyes kept on tracing to a perfect, red circle positioned on Caroline's neck. "Um, I'm pretty sure I'm gonna regret asking this, but what's that mark on your neck?" she asked Caroline.

The nervous girl seemed confused at first before she realized what Maurananei was talking about, her face turning red in color as she answered. "Oh, uh, Toni . . . bit me." she replied.

"WHAT!?" Maurananei screamed, sending a flock seagulls flying into the air. "When I get my hands on that animal-changing freak of-"

"Wait! Wait. It's not what you think!" Caroline protested. "She's just my friend for life!"

When she saw this didn't clear things up for any of her fellow contestants, she sighed and explained it to them. "I . . . I tried to . . . kill myself earlier," she sadly admitted.

"WHAT THE **BEEP!**" Maurananei swore.

Caroline sighed and rubbed her temples. "I know it was a stupid idea, but after what happened last challenge, I felt like I didn't matter to anyone!"

"What about us? What about your parents?" Alan argued.

Caroline lowered her face. "My parents only notice me when they're too lazy to do something themselves, and I didn't think you would still like me after the show was over. I mean, we live all across Canada, what are the odds that we'll see each other again?"

Maurananei was about to protest, but closed her mouth. Now that she thought about it, what would have become of them if the show was over? What would have happened if she had won? Now that she thought about it, she had originally only come to win the money and move out from her father's house, living in a huge mansion overlooking the beach with half a dozen yachts at her disposal and Chef Hatchet as her husband. It had never occurred to her that she might actually become attached to anyone else in the game, and now that she and Chef were over, her dream was starting to crumble. She had to admit, she had never thought once about meeting up with the others after the show was over. She only assumed that they would go back to their normal lives and never see each other ever again.

"Well now that you mention it . . ." Maurananei sadly admitted.

"See what I mean?" Caroline sighed. "Toni saved me from killing myself and promised we would be friends for life. This mark is to prove it." Caroline explained, pointing to the bite wound.

"So, it's a club of some kind?" Alan summed up.

"Never actually thought about it, but I guess," Caroline admitted. "Toni said that anyone with the mark could give it to others if they felt they were trust worthy and you really cared for them," Caroline explained before realization crossed her face. "Now that I think about it, you've been here for me ever since this game started." Caroline realized, pointing a finger as Maurananei.

"How about we talk about this later, okay?" Maurananei said holding up a hand. "I think I hear Chef coming."

"Then lets get outta here!" Alan cried, jumping into Maurananei's arms. The greaser didn't argue even once and gestured for Caroline to jump on her back, taking off at a brisk jog after she had climbed on.

* * *

><p>"HOT! HOT! HOT! OH, SWEET MOTHER OF BANJO STRINGS, IT BURNS!" Trey screamed.<p>

"Oh, come on. It's not that bad." Mitchell argued.

"SAYS THE GUY WHOSE ON FIRE!" Trey shot back. "AND DID I MENTION I HAVE A FEAR OF HEIGHTS?"

"Ya know, if you keep on screaming like that, Chef's gonna find us in no time." Mitchell pointed out.

"WELL EXCUSE ME FOR BEING FLAMMABLE, CAPTAIN OBVIOUS!" Trey cried as he dangled almost a hundred feet above the forest floor. He constantly glanced back and forth between the ground far below him and Mitchel'' fiery form, trying to ignore the fact that the metal ring latched around Mitchell's magma rock wrist was almost a hot yellow in color from the sheer temperature of his skin. With hands thrust out behind him, Mitchell soared through the air, oblivious to the fact that Trey was suffering from burns on his skin and scorched clothes.

"WHAT DID I EVER DO TO DESERVE THIS!?" Trey wailed.

"You really don't understand the concept of hide and seek, do you?" Mitchell sighed.

* * *

><p>"Why <em>(oof!) <em>are we _(ugh!) _doing this _(oof!) _again?" Zelda asked Kiko as she was pulled after her through the tree tops, being yanked along as Kiko jumped from tree branch to tree branch, not at all concerned about Zelda as she was slammed and knocked into trunks and branches.

"What did I say about asking questions?" the Nisilaha growled, yanking her top right arm to pull Zelda along.

"It just seems illogical to be leaving such an obvious trail behind us." Zelda pointed out.

Kiko stopped cold just before she was about to jump to the next tree branch ahead of her. With a frown upon her alien lips she yanked Zelda forward and held the pink covered girl up to eye level, dangling her a good fifty feet above the forest floor. It was then that Zelda actually remembered that she was afraid of heights and started screaming, jumping into Kiko's arms and holding her tight. Kiko rolled her eyes and easily pulled the terrified girl off of her, dangling her so that she couldn't possibly reach her again.

"Explain what that last comment was about and I'll bring you back in." Kiko narrowed her eyes.

"E-every time y-you j-jump, you leave a t-trail of d-d-destruction behind you," Zelda replied, pointing behind them at a trail of broken branches, fallen leaves, and dazed squirrels and birds that hadn't gotten out of the way fast enough. "A-anyone c-can follow us." Zelda gulped. Kiko was silent for a moment as she studied the issue and Zelda feared Kiko would let her plummet to her death; she nearly cried with relief when Kiko slowly pulled her back in and place her on the branch.

_**Confessional**_

"I am about this close to seriously ditching Zelda," Kiko snarled, pinching her fingers to something barely viewable. "In fact, why am I still carrying her around? I got the most powerful device in the world strapped to my wrist!" she cackled. "The only thing standing in my way of winning is Micheal. And once I'm done with him, not even his pathetic little watch be left!"

_**End Confessional**_

"Good time as any to try this one out," Kiko grumbled under her breath, slapping the Animatrix watch face that resided on the belt around her waist. There was an explosion of purple light and a sound that sounded similar to a futuristic bomb being set off. Zelda covered her ears and jammed her eyes shut as the Animatrix forced Kiko's DNA to change into something it shouldn't have been. Nanoseconds later, the sound and noise died down and the Nisilaha was gone from the world. In its place was a large creature that bared resemblance to a giant sea turtle that decided to stand on its hind legs. The Tolkobee was less bulky than Micheal's form, the shell more oval shaped and pointed at the ends. The flippers were thinner but had large bumps and ridges on them where Micheal didn't, allowing for less air resistance.

Zelda gulped nervously as Kiko balanced her new body on a pair of stumpy legs with dull claws on that ends on the tree branch, holding her flippers out into the air. The pink genius didn't question how Kiko managed to acquire the DNA for her new form, all she cared about getting out the tree and back onto solid ground. She yelped when Kiko suddenly dived over the side of the tree branch, pulling her with to what she could only assume was her death. She nearly wet herself with relief when she found she was still in one piece, hovering a couple dozen feet above the ground; Kiko had thankfully began spinning her flippers in a fashion similar to a helicopter's blades, allowing her to hover or fly depending on how she angled her body. And as an added bonus, at least on Zelda's part, the Animatrix had moved the chain that held them together around Kiko's neck so she wasn't forced to spun around in continuous circles until Kiko decided to land.

Kiko then proceeded to shoot straight up into the air and through the forest canopy, tilting her body just right so that she could zoom forward, pulling Toni behind her at a high speed. Zelda gulped and curled up into a ball as she tried not to look down below her at the forest so far below as Kiko flew on, unconcerned.

Instead, Zelda decided to focus on Kiko's form above, trying to focus her intelligent mind on anything else other than the fact that she was high above the ground. She decided to try and figure out how in the world a creature so lrge could fly without the use of wings, how in the world it could possibly fly simply by spinning its flippers, especially with the six large holes in the Tolkobee's carapace. The flippers clearly kept the large creature aloft, spinning in a fashion similar to a helicopter, but this did little to figure out the purpose of the holes in the Tolkobee's shell.

She was distracted from her thinking by a combination of two sounds. The first was Chris's annoying voice ringing out over the loudspeaker, announcing that Chef was now on the move and hunting them. The second was a combination of terrified screaming and several rounds of swearing and cursing that made her cheeks turned red upon hearing it.

* * *

><p>Maurananei, after running for what seemed forever, finally collapsed from exhaustion, dropping Alan into a puddle of mud and Caroline into a pile of wet leaves as she fell across a rotting log. "We've been running forever!" Maurananei panted.<p>

"Actually, it's only been ten minutes," Alan corrected her. "Either way, where do we go from here? We can't keep running like this! We need to hide!"

"Where?" Caroline wondered. "Chef's a master tracker! Did you see how quickly he found the others first season!?"

The trio fell silent as the wind rustled through the trees overhead. A bird tweeted from somewhere as a pair of squirrels wrestled over an acorn. "Okay, I've spent a lifetime on the streets running from my Dad and the cops. I know a thing or two about hiding from the fuzz."

"Don't you mean your Dad?" Alan wondered.

"No, my Dad's a cop. Or at least, my adoptive Dad is. Never knew what my real Dad did for a living." Maurananei shrugged. Caroline and Alan merely starred at her. Maurananei sighed and got up from the log, stretching out her sore arms and legs before walking off in a direction, pulling Alan and Caroline; it took both of their combined strength to hold her in place for a few precious moments.

"What's your deal?" Maurananei growled.

Alan didn't anything, merely pointing ahead of Maurananei. She followed his direction and froze on the spot at what she saw. Straight ahead, a mere half a dozen feet away and sitting on a rock, was a seriously ticked Diamondback rattlesnake. The reptile rattled its tail rapidly as it flicked its tongue in and out, smelling the air as it stared expressionlessly at the three contestants.

"What do I do?" Maurananei whispered.

"Maybe I can try talking to him?" Caroline suggested. Upon hearing this, the snake rattled its tail even harder, creating a loud buzzing noise, and opened its jaws to let its razor sharp fangs swing forward, sickly orange venom dripping from the hollow ips.

"How about not?" Alan whimpered, yelping and jumping into Maurananei's arms when the snake slithered down from the rock, still buzzing its tail, and across the forest floor. The reptile slid over branches and through leaves before slithering over Maurananei's foot and nearly making her scream in panic. She managed to keep her cool however and watched with fearful eyes as it quietly slithered under a bush, the tail slowly down to the occasional rattle.

"Move." Caroline whispered.

Maurananei didn't need to be told twice and quickly fled the scene, still carrying Alan in her arms as Caroline was dragged alone behind her. The sudden motion didn't bother her however, as she much more concerned with something she had seen. Or something she had thought she had seen. She couldn't stop playing over the image of the rattlesnake slithering over Maurananei's shoe, focusing more and more on the snake's scales and body. And then she suddenly realized something.

There was a red ring around the snake's tail. And not just a natural mark on the tail, but like something was caught around it. Something with an opened jaw symbol on it.

* * *

><p>Chef stalked through the woods, his large hands clutching his water pistol tightly. For once in his long career as a free lance man-hunter (he chose to keep this fact to himself), he was actually worried he wouldn't find his quarry. He found every man, woman, and child he had been hired to find within a day of being hired, and not once had he ever had a case that the missing person could not be found. But today, the burly cook might have met his match. Not since Izzy was Chef so concerned about holding up his reputation.<p>

"Hiya, Chefy!"

Chef winced at the loud and obnoxious sounding voice in his ear. Against his better judgment, Chris had hired Izzy back into the game to boost the depleting ratings (what people found so borinng about super-powered teenagers was a mystery to him). Chef had fought tooth and nail to keep his arch-nemesis from getting back on the show, but Chris would have none of it. In the end, Chef managed to 'negotiate' with Chris into making Izzy his eyes in the sky rather than his hunting partner. Now, as much as he hated to admit it, he actually wanted Izzy by his side, cackling her insane laughter as she fired off her water gun.

"Whatya want, Crazy Girl!?" Can't ya see I'm huntin'?" Chef snapped.

"Sure ya are, Chefy! Yer huntin' _real _hard!" Izzy's voice laughed from the microphone embedded into Chef's ear.

"Course I am! Now unless ya got anything useful to say, shut yer pie hole!" Chef yelled.

"That's no way to treat Esquire!" Izzy yelled. "Now she won't tell you where the freaky powered munchkins are!"

"Knock it off, Crazy Girl! Do your dang job and tell me where them teenagers at!" Chef yelled, stomping his foot down with anger.

"Not until you apologize to Lady Esquire!"

"I ain't apologizing ta nobody!" Chef argued back. "Now tell me where them teenagers is at!"

"NEVER!" Izzy bellowed into microphone, Chef howling at the loud noise and tearing the device from his throbbing ear drum. With gritted teeth he raised his clenched hand, ready to throw the ear piece down onto the ground and crush it underneath his boot but stopped himself. He took several calming breaths before shoving the ear piece into his other ear, grumbling incoherent things under his breath as he cocked the water pistol and continued his march. He kept his senses peeled, his ears attuned to the world around him, listening for any disturbance that would signal the location of his prey.

"Not that Esquire forgives you, but you might wanna duck!" Izzy's voice rang out in his head. For once, Chef didn't argue or yell back about stopping such nonsense and merely threw himself to the ground as a shadow whizzed over his head. The psycho hash slinger popped back up onto his feet, cocking an water pistol and ready to douse whoever had tried to get the jump on him; he had seconds thoughts when he saw who it was. Or rather, what it was.

Glaring at him with a pair of golden eyes ringed in topaz was a large leopard. The cook flinched upon seeing the big cat, his eyes tracing over the massive muscles under the black spotted fur and the large, saber-like teeth that barely fit into the jaws. The long tail snapped back and forth as the leopard stared down Chef, its eyes never blinking as it flexed its razor sharp claws. Chef slowly backed away from the carnivore, his mind too frightened to even question why there was an African big cat in Northern Ontario; he had heard tales of big game hunters, masters at what they did, track leopards for days without ever finding them, only to find out the cats had been tracking _them_. And by then, it was too late for the hunters to even call out for help.

Izzy was yelling something in his ear, too scared to even attempt to listen to the insane babbling the Psycho Hose Beast was spitting out at him. He wisely chose to ignore her nonsense and slowly back up, never turning his back to the big cat; he wasn't sure how a leopard managed to get this far from its homeland Africa, and he currently didn't care at the moment. He was almost a dozen feet away from making a break for the woods when Izzy suddenly screamed in his ear.

"WHAT ARE YOU, BLIND!? LOOK AT HIS FREAKIN' NECK!" Izzy roared in Chef's ear, making Chef yelping in surprise. He did as Izzy told him and glanced with wild eyes, looking for whatever Izzy was trying to tell him. The leopard narrowed its eyes and stalked forward, its shoulders pumping up and down as it padded forward, a low growl escaping its lips; Chef couldn't keep his eyes off of those wicked teeth. He was about ready to lose his nerve and make a run for it when his eye caught something. It was dark red in color and wrapped itself around the leopard's muscled neck. A small disk with a symbol that looked like an open pair of jaws sat on the front of the collar.

"You!" Chef roared angrily, jabbing a finger forward.

"I tried to tell ya!" Izzy chastised him. "But you wouldn't listen to Esquire!"

"Knock it off, Crazy Girl!" Chef yelled back at her, cocking his water pistol. "Now hold still, ya hooligan! I'm about to get a bonus!" he grinned maliciously. The leopard actually seemed to grin at hearing this and reached up with a large paw and smacked it down on the toothed symbol around its neck, a bright flash of red light washing over the big cat and blinding Chef. By the time the light died down, the leopard was gone. In its place was a creature that Chef could only compare to a dinosaur of sorts. It was dark purple in color and wore a black and red track suit across its body, a long, whip-like tail trailing out from the spine. Spikes ran down the back and poked out from the elbows and knees as the creature regarded Chef; the cook noticed that instead of hands, it had three blades that fused together into solid points and instead of feet, it had black spheres that were held in place by razor sharp claws, a single claw rising from the others that looked as it were meant o be used as a slashing tool. The head was pointed, hidden under a crested helmet with a black and red visor that protected the creature's eyes.

The alien gave a mocking salute and stuck out its tongue at him. Chef frowned and pulled the trigger on his water pistol, determined to catch the shape-shifter and earn his bonus. But faster than he could blink the alien was gone, having disappeared in a black and red blur and leaving nothing but a trail of dust that was kicked up in its wake.

"That boy ain't right," Chef grumbled, turning on his heel and marching through the woods again.

* * *

><p>"You don't talk much, do you?" Wilson asked.<p>

Anuok shook her head and yanked him forward, trudging through the mud and trying to ignore the squishy feeling between her toes; the mud had long since stolen her shoes, forcing her to march forward on bare feet. She ignored the bugs that buzzed around her head and brushed a lock of hair out of her face, running her fingers across one of the feathers that she had tied into her hair; she was fond of the memories they gave her, of spending hours outside away from her annoying brothers and simply enjoying nature, collecting stray bird feathers she found lying on the ground.

Unlike those times however, she was not enjoying her time in the outdoors right now. Being chained to someone, especially someone from the other team, was not her idea of having fun. Being hunted down by a psychotic cook was also not very fun for her, and if her predictions were right, things were going to get a whole lot worse in the coming hours. That she was sure of. Anuok pushed the thought aside and pressed onwards, pulling Wilson behind her without a word.

"So, uh, made any friends since you came here?" Wilson asked awkwardly, not use to so much silence.

Anuok nodded and pressed on through the armpit of the island, the swamp from the some of the previous challenges. The mangrove trees seemed to have gotten bigger and more threatening since she had last been here, vines draped over their branches in thick curtains that obscured most of her view. A constant chorus of frog croaks and dragonfly wing beats filled the air, the atmosphere thick and heavy from the heat. And the smell of rot was absolutely overwhelming.

"I'm not trying to be rude or anything, but can you even talk?" Wilson asked.

Anuok gave him an annoyed look and made a series of rapid hand gestures without saying anything close to word. When Wilson asked her what she had just said Anuok rolled her eyes and pressed on, yanking Wilson with her through the mud. They traveled on in silence after that, ducking under the sweeping branches of the mangrove trees and avoiding the suspicious shapes that lurked beneath the surface of the water. After what seemed hours of trudging through slime and muck, only occasionally finding dry enough land to rest on, they finally found a way out of the swamp, water dripping from their everything.

Anuok sat down on a stump, Wilson having no choice but to sit down on the ground next to her and wait until she decided to get up and move. As she wringed out her soaked hair, Anuok assessed her situation; she was stuck out in the wilderness being hunted down a crazy cook that looked more like a serial killer than a cook and she chained to fellow camper who she wasn't even on the same team as. As this thought crossed her mind, another came after it; how could she possibly win this challenge with Wilson fully prepared to sabotage her at any point?

A large shadow passed over head, a loud beating sound accompanied by an excess amount of screaming coming from it as it soared through the air; Anuok ignored it; she couldn't do anything to stop it until much later, when Micheal was found.

That led her to another thought; where was Micheal, and why was he hiding in the first place? It wasn't that she blamed him for wanting to stay away from Kiko and Caroline for the time being, but why did he want to put distance between his others friends such as her, Trey, Toni, and Paul? Why had he disappeared so that even Chris and Chef, with their hundreds of cameras covering their every move, could only confirm that he was in the vicinity of the island?

She decided to see if she could find any sign of him and crossed her legs over each other, assuming a Lotus position and closing her eyes as Wilson waited patiently on the ground. She slowed her breathing and reached out with her senses, her mind clearing and an image slowly forming in her head of Wilson face down in the mud and her nowhere in sight; this slightly worried her, but she swept passed the image and to the next one. It was of Pahkitew up in flames, fire covering nearly every inch of the artificial island. This prediction greatly frightened her as she saw so sign of her or the others, only two massive creatures of unbelievable proportions seemingly locked in a battle to the death. Before Anuok could get a closer look at this, her concentration was interrupted by Wilson.

_**Confessional**_

A seriously annoyed Anuok sat on the rotting toilet seat of the outhouse confessional, taking out her notepad and scribbling something down before holding it up to the camera to read. _Not cool, Wilson. Not cool, _it read. The silent girl then proceeded to give the camera the one-finger salute.

_**End Confessional**_

"Anuok! Anuok! Creepy-Future Girl!" Wilson yelled in panic. Anuok opened her eyes with annoyance as Wilson gave a girly scream and dove to the ground, face first into a mud puddle. Anuok cocked an eyebrow and turned to see a black and red blur speeding towards her. It seemed the very trees were whipped aside by the sheer force of the anomaly as it zoomed towards her. Faster than Anuok could ever hope to blink, the blur slammed into her, a metallic slicing sound meeting her ears, and then silence with nothing but the sound of the rushing wind to tell her where she was. She blinked and looked up to stare at a face that was vaguely human in appearance, with the exception with the fact that it had no visible nose and had a set of sharp teeth lining its jaws behind its black and red mask. She glanced down to see that she was being carried bridal style in the creature's arms, sharp blades that seemed to act as the creature's fingers holding onto her tightly as it ran at an impossible speed.

The strange creature pulled to stop after it just seemed to start running and set Anuok down on a rock before resting by leaning back on its tail as if it were a chair of some kind; the creature didn't say a word as Anuok studied, noticing how reptilian it looked appearance yet so intelligent at the same time. Her eyes were continually drawn to the creature's strange feet, four claws that held a pair of black spheres in place with a slicing claw jabbed right between the front two toes. She continued to study the creature as it picked its sharp teeth absentmindedly with its blades until she saw a familiar symbol stuck fast to a neck brace around the alien's neck; she quickly whipped out her sketch pad and jotted something down on it before holding it up for the alien to read.

The alien glanced over the writing before grabbing her pencil and her notepad in its claws, much to Anuok's surprise and quickly scribbling something out faster than Anuok could read.

_**Yes, it's me, Anuok.**_

Anuok nodded and took the pad back from him, writing something and handing it back.

_Why do you refuse to talk? _she asked as Micheal took the pad back from her and scribbled something out.

_**I don't deserve the right to speak. Not after what happened. **_he answered, his head drooping in shame.

_Stop with that nonsense. The only reason I don't speak is because I don't want to. Plus, I have a horrible voice._

_**I have a hard time believing that. Seriously though, why does this always happen to me?**_

_What do you mean?_

_**I thought you knew?**_

_I can read see the future, not the past._

_**Fine. Lets just say that people that I get too close suffer the consequences for it.**_

_What about your family?_

_**I actually had to kill someone to drive the point home that they were off limits. I swore afterward that would never stoop that low again.**_

_Can you please at least say something? I'm running out paper. _Anuok asked.

"Fine," Micheal grumbled, giving Anuok her notepad back. "I meant to grab Wilson by the way. You just happened to be in the right place at the same time." Anuok cocked an eyebrow, and the Velocidadian rolled its eyes. "We may be friends, but this is still a competition, remember?"

Anuok couldn't but smile at hearing that. Indeed, Micheal seemed to be making a come back.

* * *

><p>"Be very quiet," Mitchell instructed Trey.<p>

The guitarist silently nodded his hand, covering his mouth with the hand that didn't smell like crispy bacon; Mitcehll had thankfully resumed his human form for trey's sake after finally realizing he was in agonizing pain, but the damage was done. They were perched on a tree branch about a dozen feet above the ground, watching carefully as C picked himself through a bramble thicket, cursing under his breath as the thorns scrapped against his skin. The cook eventually managed to get out of the thicket was heading their way, oblivious to them as he seemed to have an argument with himself. And the sad thing was that he actually seemed to be losing.

"Girl, I am not blind," he snapped. "I know there's someone around here. I can smell them, but I can't see them." he grumbled as Trey glanced nervously at his smoking hand. Mitchell tightened his grip on the branch they were sitting on, worry wracking his body as Chef marched closer.

"Get to it, Chefy Dog!" Izzy cackled in his ear.

"I dunno know why I put up with you," Chef grumbled under his breath. The burly cook put his nose to the air, sucking in a deep breath and picking through the different scents of the forest with his dog-like senses; he could smell rotting leaves and wood, animal feces, bird feathers, even Chris's hair gel that somehow managed to seep its scent into every nook and cranny of the artificial island. But there was something else hidden amongst those different smells, something unnatural and unusual. He could smell faint traces of it all over the island, but there was also some that was actually pretty close by. He stooped down to the ground, his keen eyes picking through the leaf litter and twigs that carpeted the forest floor, searching for anything that would give him a hint to his quarry's whereabouts. He soon found it; a smoldering ember that was dangerously close to a pile of kindling. Chef quickly snuffed it out with a loogie. His quarry was close.

Directly over his head, their shadows hidden by the tall trees behind them, Mitchell and Trey held their breath. Mitchell dug his nails into the tree branch, biting his lip nervously as Chef continued to search for evidence. Trey clutched his guitar tightly, suppressing the urge to pluck a few strings to calm his nerves. The burly cook pressed his sensitive nose to the ground, inhaling the many scents and sniffing around their tree with the stature of a dog just about to uncover a huge feast; this worried Trey a little. And was it just him, or was he smelling something too?

Trey took a few quiet sniffs of his nose, not quiet sure if his senses were playing tricks on him. He quickly decided they were not the red hot pain returned to his hand, it taking everything he had to stifle a scream of agony as he turned with an anxious head to see Mitchell engulfed in flames, his magma rock skin barely viewable under the layers of fire that covered his body.

"What are you doing!?" Trey rasped through gritted teeth.

"I'm sorry! It happens sometimes when I'm nervous!" Mitchell hissed.

"Well you better keep it under control 'cause not only is there a psycho chef _directly beneath us_, but you're setting fire to our hiding spot!" Trey shot back, the smell of burning rubber reaching his nose as the tiny bits of flame that had ignited on the branch began to eat away at his sneakers. Trey now had zero doubt that Chef would now find them, especially when a loud cracking sound filled the air and the branch holding them in place suddenly snapped under their weight and dropped them to the ground, landing them in a thorn bush of all places. Seriously, it were as if Chris had intentionally planted the prickly monsters under every tree on the island to inflict as much pain as possible.

"With any luck, Chef didn't hear us." Trey groaned.

"Wanna bet?" Chef cackled, jacking the piston on his water gun and pulling the trigger. A tidal wave of water shot out from the nozzle of the toy weapon, soaking the two boys to the bone and extinguishing Mitchell's flaming body and drowning Trey's guitar in dyed green water. "You suckers are comin' with me." Chef grinned.

"Aw, man." Mitchell groaned.

_**Confessional**_

"Was I upset that we were the first ones out?" Trey asked, water dripping freely from his hair and onto the floor of the outhouse. "Absolutely. Was I ticked off at Mitchell getting us caught? Definitely."

_**Change Confessional**_

Boy, did we get burned on that one," Mitchell grumbled. "No pun intended."

_**Change Confessional**_

"Do you think Chef will find us in here?" Paul asked Toni, who was sitting on his lap in the small space. His girlfriend shrugged her shoulders, the handcuffs making a small clinking sound as she moved. "I dunno. Probably can't smell us, but I don't think we're desperate enough to stay in here until the challenge is over."

"Good, because I was having serious second thoughts." Paul laughed nervously, trying to keep his lunch down.

_**End Confessional**_

Kiko gritted her teeth, silently counting to one-hundred in her head. She had tried counting to ten, but that didn't work; she nearly out right killed Zelda, but restrained herself just in time. The pink genius was dragging behind her, her feet scrapping against the ground as she struggled to keep up. Kiko didn't have this problem. She felt like she had enough energy to run forever without even tiring. The one problem she _did _have was that her Animatrix was recharging, the fanged face plate faded and dull in color as it charged itself from some invisible power source.

"Kiko, we have to actually _hide_," Zelda panted. "That's the whole point of the game!"

"Chef can't find us if we keep moving!" Kiko snapped.

"But the odds of us and him running into each other-" Zelda protested.

"I don't care!" Kiko roared, all the birds in the surrounding trees falling silent. "Just stop with your senseless lecturing! I don't want to hear anymore out of you! In fact, this partnership is over! I don't know what I ever saw in you, but now that you've fulfilled your purpose, we're through!" she bellowed.

"Kiko, calm down! Chef will hear you!" Zelda pleaded.

"I don't care!" Kiko repeated herself, a bright beeping sound meeting her ears. She lowered her wrist to see the Animatrix was fully recharged. Without hesitation, Kiko slapped the watch face and let the purple light consume her, shifting and changing her body structure to whatever she had ordered the watch to turn her into. Nanoseconds later, her female Nisilaha form towered over Zelda, yanking the girl up by the chain and stretching the chain taunt between her teeth. With a sudden movement that Zelda was barely able to register, the chain was severed with a loud _snap! _and Zelda was dropped to the ground.

"You are pathetic," Kiko growled, giving a swift kick to Zelda's ribs with enough force to seriously bruise them. "You were so naïve to believe that someone as powerful as me would actually be your friend! You fell for it like the simple child you are!"

"I'm smarter than you'll ever be!" Zelda shot back, wincing at the pain in her side before Kiko stomped her foot down on her hand, a sickening cracking sound filling the air as bone snapped. The Nisilaha reached down and picked up Zelda by the throat in one of her large hands, clenching her fist and making the pink genius's face turn purple in color as she struggled to breath.

"Don't ever talk back to me, _slave_." Kiko hissed. "Don't forget about what I did to you. Or would you rather have the entire viewing world see your shame?" she snarled, reaching with her lower set of arms for Zelda's shirt. The genius roughly shook her hand, clawing at Kiko's fist with her nails, her eyes bugging out of her head as Kiko tightened her grip.

"That's what I thought, you worthless **BEEP!**" Kiko swore, drawing back her fist and throwing Zelda's body into a tree. The girl hit it with a sickening _thwack! _and slumped to the ground, unconscious as the color slowly started to return to her face.

"I AM THE MOST POWERFUL PERSON ON EARTH!" Kiko bellowed to the heavens. "AND NO ONE WILL STOP ME FROM GETTING WHAT I WANT!" she cackled madly, grabbing another tree in her grip and tearing it out of the island's grip, snapping it in two over her knee and throwing the remains into another tree, decimating it with ease. "MUAHAHA-HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

**Wow. I did not I could be this dark.**

**Yep, that's right, folks. Another two parter! The first cliff hanger was unintentional, but this is intentional. And also unintentional. Basically I'll be too busy tomorrow to work on this and meet my schedule requirements, so I decided to kill two birds with one stone (don't let Toni, Caroline, or Micheal know I said that).**

**Anyways, I should hopefully have the other half of this chapter up before the end of next month. Again, I'm really sorry for the inconvience to my loyal readers, but that's the way the cookie crumbles.**

**As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!  
><strong>

**Hastat Luego!**


	11. Hide and be Sneaky 3: Watch Wars Edition

**Welcome, one and all, to the second half of the cliff hanger!**

**As I'm sure quite a lot of you are eager to see massive amounts of violence (especially between two certain people), I'll skip the formalities and get right to the important stuff!**

**As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!**

**Onward!**

Chef Hatchet strolled through the forest with a slight spring in his step as Mitchell and Trey trudged behind him, clearly not happy as their clothes continued to drip with water. The cook and his lackeys stole through the forest, Chef diving behind bushes and rocks and leveling his blaster at anything that so much as moved as Mitchell and Trey lumbered behind him, tripping over logs and rocks and cursing loudly when they got a face full of mud, wet leaves or, in Trey's case, an unlucky banana slug.

"You two suckers see any of them other players?" Chef asked gruffly after walking for a while and coming to a low cliff that overlooked a bubbling stream.

"If you mean other than a flying turtle, than no." Mitchell said absentmindedly, picking thorns from his arms and palms; he would have set himself on fire to simply disintegrate the pesky pricks in his skin or dry himself, but with so much around him that could easily catch fire, the risk was too great. Trey was fine with this turn of events, as he had had enough fire to last him a life time; the smell of cooked flesh that followed him wherever he went and the nasty looking burn on his hand was evidence enough.

Unfortunately for both boys, Chef had not been kind enough to uncuff them, much to their annoyance, claiming that it would make running away, should they find someone before him, all the more difficult; this greatly creeped both of them out, especially when Chef them his signature grin that struck terror into their hearts and would haunt their nightmares for weeks on end.

Chef frowned and grumbled under his breath, pumping his blaster and ready to fire it when ready. He sniffed the air again, taking in the hundreds of scents and picking out the ones that were useless to him. Amongst the hundreds of them, he eventually managed to pick out a certain scent that intrigue him: the smell of cologne. And not just Chris's, not this one was different.

"I'm coming for you, Pretty Boy." he chuckled darkly as Mitchell and Trey shared nervous glances.

_**Confessional**_

"Okay, can I just say that he has issues? And I don't mean your normal issues," Trey corrected himself, for once not distracting himself with his precious guitar. "Someone call the nut house and get him into a straightjacket already!"

_**End Confessional**_

"Are you sure this'll work?" Alan whispered anxiously.

"Positive," Maurananei answered. "That **BEEP! **can't shoot what he can't see." she smiled.

"Good, because can I just say that I think we dug this thing inside of a fire ant nest!?" Alan rasped harshly, furiously scratching his arms, legs, and butt.

"That was the whole point. Ain't no way Chef's gonna risk getting bitten by these bad boys." Maurananei grinned, gesturing to the many, bright orange ants that crawled over her skin without her jumping or being uncomfortable in the least.

"So how come they only seem interested in biting me!?" Alan exclaimed before Caroline and Maurananei shushed him.

"Must be your fancy perfume," Caroline deduced.

"It's cologne!" Alan gripped.

"Same thing," Caroline grinned. "I could try asking them to not bite you, but I can't speak to insects. Too simple minded to even try to communicate with." The trio, still chained together, were hiding in what Maurananei called a fox hole (not to be confused with a foxy hole). Unfortunately for Alan, Maurananei had instructed them to dig it right in the middle of a large fire ant nest to deter Chef from finding them, but the insects seemed only interested in torturing Alan as he desperately tried not to give away their position.

Maurananei meanwhile, was thinking. Here she was, stuck in a fox hole with two members of the opposite team. Sure, she had grown close to them as friends, but this complicated how she could possibly win the challenge for her team. Sure, she had no issue with dragging them around as she was far stronger than both of them combined, but they were still enough to slow her down and possibly alert Chef, who would not care whether they were on opposite teams or not.

This also got her thinking about the two people she was currently stuck in a hole with. She saw Caroline like the sister she never had and was ready to protect her from everything the world had to throw at her, and this included getting back at Kiko; hundreds of cruel and sadistic thoughts ran through her head about how she could possibly torture her. Then there was Micheal; she had no beef with him at the moment, but she was seriously ticked at what had happened last challenge. Whether he was involved in the whole scheme was unknown to her, but she figured this was not the case; having a police officer for a father figure had its perks.

Alan was another story. In the previous days, when the season was still young and they were as clueless and as gullible as newborn babies, albeit _dangerous _babies, she would not have hesitated to snap Alan over her knee like a twig had she caught him making goo-goo eyes at her or staring at her private areas. But Alan had changed in the coming episodes, becoming less annoying and learning to control his perverted personality to the point where it hardly existed. She found she enjoyed the times they had spent together, cracking jokes about Chef's cooking and coming up with nasty nicknames and pranks for Chris. She truly felt she could be herself around him without actually scaring him. Sure, there were times even she admitted she was frightening, but they had worked around those issues will little problems. And even better, she had found she was more calm around him and less likely to break something over someone's head, though if that person had been Chris, no one would have cared.

The sound of crunching leaves caught her attention and she turned her eyes upwards, hoping she wouldn't see a pair of threatening black boots under gray pants and stained apron. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw she wasn't even close as a pair of large, purple feet with two clawed toes stomped by, the sound of brush being crushed and trees being destroyed echoing through the woods. "Geez, when did Micheal become so temperamental?" she wondered quietly.

Unbeknownst to Maurananei, it wasn't Micheal who was having a happy tromp through the woods over head. Far from it actually. This shape-shifter was on a rampage, destroying everything in sight and in her way as she made her way towards the beach, a good mile or so away from her current position. It didn't matter though; to her, trees snapped like twigs, rocks were crumbled like wads of paper, and any unlucky animals to cross her path were tossed aside like rag dolls.

In her mind, Kiko was better than anyone else on the island, as far as she was concerned. Why was she wasting so much time running and hiding from some crazy cook with a little water blaster when Chris McLean, host of the show and owner she was currently on _and _the only thing that stood between her and a million dollars; she could almost feel the crisp dollar bills in her fingers, the looks of shame on her fellow contestants as they witnessed her greatest victory. But that wasn't the only thing on her mind. She had plans for when she won the money. Kiko had originally been planning to use the money to buy herself a huge mansion, make several successful investments and live out the rest of her days in the lap of luxury, becoming the world's richest person.

But now that she had the Animatrix on her person, the most powerful and adaptable weapon in all of the cosmos, in all of existence even, new thoughts began to twist through her mind. She saw entire cities up in flames, helpless against her assault and conquest as one by one the countries of the world fell before her, swearing their eternal allegiance to her for fear of being crushed. She would rule with an iron fist, and anyone that opposed her would be swiftly dismembered by herself for all the world to see. But why stop there? There were samples of alien DNA in the Animatrix, meaning that there was life beyond her rein. She soon send out her newly made troops and conquer their worlds, one by one, spreading throughout the galaxy like a disease until it was hers! She would rein supreme for all of space and time!

Then again, Chris wasn't the only thing standing in her way. There were the other contestants, but they were absolute weaklings compared to her. No, the only that stood in her way with an actual chance of stopping her in her tracks was the original wearer of the Animatrix, Micheal himself.

If only finding him wasn't so hard.

Frustrated, Kiko tore a tree out of the island's grid with her four, well muscled arms and snapped it over her knee like a twig, crushing the pieces together with ease before throwing the remains into another stand of trees, obliterating them in a blast of splinters and wires; how Chris wasn't aware of his island's imminent destruction was beyond her, but she didn't care. The unlimited power of the Animatrix coursed through her veins, slowly maddening her mind to the point where the clear line between human and animal was blurred. She neither one, nor the other, but some sickening combination that beyond anyone's, even Chris's, horrific imagination.

* * *

><p>Wilson groaned and picked his face up out of the mud, wiping as much as the filth from his face as he slowly climbed to his feet. His clothes, simple as they were, were absolutely covered and drenched in mud. There was mud on his shirt, mud on his shoes, mud on his pants, mud in places he didn't even know could have mud! To make things worse, he felt a single tickling sensation all over him, as something squirmed around in the muck that covered his skin. He shuddered and pulled himself out of the mud, trudging through the forest and collecting leaves and pine needles onto his sticky skin.<p>

He sighed. Why was he having such a hard time fitting in around here, in this place? Was it because he was the only normal one there? He didn't have an super powers going for him. He didn't have fire powers, super sonic lungs, shape-shifting abilities, super strength, nothing. So why did Alan fit in so easily with everyone when he didn't? It wasn't because he was one of the new contestants thrown into the game at the last second; Paul fit in perfectly, as if he had been there since the beginning.

With a second sigh, he crouched down at the edge of a river bank, dipping his hands in and simply letting the current wash the muck from his hands until they were clean enough to work with. He then scooped some water in his cupped hands and splashed it on his face, muddy water dripping from his blonde locks and disturbing the river below as he cleaned himself up. It wasn't until he gave up on hand washing and was about to jump in altogether did he notice something strange. Quirking an eyebrow, he bent over the edge of the river bank and waited until the water stilled enough that he could see his reflection clearly. And what he saw shocked him.

Instead of him, his actual self, there was the face of a stranger starring back at him with cunning eyes. He was tall and wiry, his limbs barely having any muscle on them and seeming to just be nothing more than bones with skin over them. His fingers long and bony as they reached up to his head to tilt down his red brimmed top hat, as if greeting Wilson. He wore a dark maroon undertaker tailcoat and a pair of black pants with a purple vest that didn't exactly cover his entire midriff. A red cummerbund was strapped around his waist a a pair of white spats over his black shoes; his top hat had a human skull under the shade of a red feather, dozens of beaded necklaces and strings of crocodile teeth looped around his neck.

Wilson frantically looked an explanation for the anomaly, glancing behind him to see if there was someone, anyone who was behind him that met his reflection's description; there was no one. Wilson gulped and shakily turned back to the reflection, which was still there, and gulped nervously.

"W-who are you?" he stammered, not quite expecting an answer. And yet, an answer came.

"Ah, so the boy finally sees," the reflection hummed. "Quite simple, Wilson, I am you and you are me. Simple as that."

Wilson shook his head in disbelief. "B-but . . . but how is that even possible?" he stammered

The reflection rolled his eyes and grumbled before explaining. "You remember Mike from Season 4 of this sorry excuse for a reality show?"

"T-the one with m-multiple personalities?" Wilson gulped.

The reflection nodded. "Correct, boy. In simple terms, I'm another side of you, as you are another side of me. And trust me, boy, I am _very _real." he chuckled darkly, twirling a crystal ball-tipped staff around in his fingers with little difficulty.

"Are you the reason why I don't fit in with everyone else here?" Wilson asked nervously.

The reflection gave him a malicious smile. "That's right, he can be taught! My, aren't you clever?" he chuckled. "Yes, my few appearances have distanced all of the other players in this so-called game of Total Drama. All but one," he added before putting in an after thought. "Speaking of, I should probably see her. We have much to discuss."

"What do you mean you- GAH!" Wilson startled before unbearable pain coursed through his body as he felt his mind slowly slip through his fingers, slowly, ever so slowly, sinking into an oblivion from which he could not escape from. His entire body trembled and shook as incredibly painful changes occurred; Like some nightmarish werewolf transformation, Wilson painfully grew taller, his legs becoming thin sticks and his arms growing long and wiry. His skin slowly began to darken, turning into a chocolate brown as his fingers became bony and his nails longer and unkempt. His hair was slowly sucked back into his head until it was little more than black fuzz around his scalp, his eyes glowing an odd purple color. The most dramatic change however, were the changes in his clothes. His clothes changed into a dark maroon undertaker tailcoat and a pair of black pants with a purple vest that didn't exactly cover his entire midriff. A red cummerbund was strapped around his waist a a pair of white spats over his black shoes. As if that weren't creepy enough, a black top hat with a large red feather over a human skull magically appeared on his head and a long cane tipped with serpent holding an orange orb in its jaws appeared in his hands. Several tailsmen and bead necklaces appeared around his neck, the largest of these being once that had crocodile teeth run through the string. With the transformation complete, Wilson stepped back out into the light, a completely different person.

"Ahhh, much better," the man sighed with relief. "And please, the name is Serphonus." he added to no one in particular, ignoring the screams of fear that he could just barely hear in the back of his mind.

* * *

><p>"Run! Run for your life!" Paul wailed.<p>

"Get back here, ya worthless pond scum!" Chef Hatchet bellowed, water pistol over his shoulder as he charged after Toni and Paul with Mitchell flying behind him and Trey hanging on for dear life. Having taken pity on the poor boy, Chef had given Trey a heat-proof glove to wear over his chained hand so he would no longer suffer should Mitchell decided to heat things up. The pair were flying on a hunk of rock Mitchell had raised out of the ground with his limited earth bending abilities, something Trey never knew Mitchell could do.

While not necessarily running, Paul was scared out of his wits. In fact, he was sure he had wet his pants so many times in the past hour, that he would no longer be able to wear the pair of underpants that he current wore ever again; he and Toni had been running for their lives for the past hour with Chef Hatchet and company on their heels. Just when it seemed they were in the clear and could stop to catch their breaths, the crazy cook always appeared out of nowhere, ready to soak them to the bone with his blaster of mass destruction.

With her boyfriend on her back, Toni raced through the woods before breaking out onto the beach, mentally cursing herself for picking a form that was such an easy target to hit. Not that Chef had managed to hit the large African Elephant as it fled the scene, but there was a first time for everything. Toni let out a loud trumpet that scattered all the birds in the area as she thundered down the beach, slowly weaving to the left and right to avoid Chef Hatchet's blasts as he came after her.

"The lake! Go for the lake!" Paul yelled, pointing with a finger towards the lake and yanking as hard as he could on the chain that bound the two of them together, a heavy metal collar around the pachyderm's neck. Toni followed Paul's lead and fled towards the water, trunk raised above her head as the waves slapped against her sides. Before long, all that was left of her was the tip of her trunk above the surface and the very top of her back, leaving Paul completely exposed. Thinking quickly, Paul focused his mind and felt every cell, every molecule in his body become see-through, invisible to the world as he and his love made their way to the buoy with the flag on it, Chef Hatchet none the wiser.

Or so they thought.

"Eat it, suckas!" Chef roared as he soared over the water, his strong fingers digging deep into Mitchell's rock as he squeezed the trigger on his water pistol; Mitchell stood behind him, directing the boulder forward with a helpless look as Trey dangled from behind, screaming as he held his guitar with a white knuckle grip.

Faster!" Paul screamed in panic, instantly giving away his position as Chef tightened his finger on the trigger, blasting a jet of green stained water at the elusive meta-teens that had managed to slip through his fingers for so long. Paul was instantly covered from head to toe in green, looking like some bizarre space alien as Chef blasted Toni's back as well, ending their time in the game. With a pain rumble, Toni headed back to shore, Paul making rude gesture's at Chef that he ignored.

Although he blasted Paul again when he got to insulting his mother.

* * *

><p>Chris loved his job.<p>

Sure there times when he hated it; when the contestants refused to do as he told or wanted them to behave; when the interns were all in the hospital (or worse) and the cappuccino machine was broken; even when his best friend and co-host Chef Hatchet refused to work because he never got his oh-so-precious pay check. But all in all, Chris McLean loved his sadistic job as the breaker of the world's next generation of teenagers, putting them through agonizing challenges and tests that pushed them to the brink of insanity to make himself famous.

Oh, how he loved the fame.

He loved it when screaming fans, desperate for his attention, came to line the red carpet just to see his handsome face, loved it when hundreds of reporter's cameras lit up the sky like Christmas lights, all vying for his attention to ask questions about him, to see himself recognized by the world as one of its greatest celebrities. But most of all, he loved the wealth his job came with. Before, he had no idea that it was possible to have a solid gold hot tub with a built in 90 inch flat screen TV with the world's most expensive video game console and its rarest chocolates served to him on a ruby studded plate.

The host returned his steely gaze back to the dozens of TV screens that sat in front of him, their screens showing different scenes from around the island. On one screen he saw Paul and Toni washing up on the beach, Paul saying several rude things at Chef. On another screen, he saw Maurananei and Caroline try to silence a screaming Alan as millions of fire ants bit into his vulnerable skin; and in his nether regions too. On a third screen, he saw Wilson quietly strolling through woods, not a care in the world; Chris thought he noticed something different about the boy, but ignored it. On a fourth screen he saw Anuok having a 'conversation' with a bizarre creature not of this world.

Chris immediately frowned upon seeing that. Out of all the contestants under his thumb, he had hoped Micheal would cause the most destruction, inflict the most pain, impose the most fear. And he had. On Chris.

No matter what Chris tried, the watch-wearing hero never fell for it. The sadistic host nearly gave up before Kiko had turned on the cast, stealing Caroline's boy right from under her nose for the entire viewing world to see! Talk about ratings!

The host was so busy imagining the many awards he would receive for the season, that he didn't notice his bottle of sparkling water sitting on the desk in front of him start to shake slightly. The water in the bottle vibrated with a steady rhythm that was usually only matched with very large, very heavy feet that belonged to some sort of horrifying creature or creation.

Chris never sat it coming. One minute, everything was nice and quiet inside the little beach hut he had set up on the beach to watch the competition, and the next thing he knew, the bamboo walls and grass thatch roof had been blown to smithereens, a dark shadow cast over accompanied by very bad breath. Chris was about to turn around and give Micheal a piece of his mind about wrecking private property before his eye caught something on a screen; Micheal was still talking to Anuok. And Toni was still with Chef, shouting incredibly rude things about his mother that seemed to actually make the big, tough cook break down and start crying like a little kid who had his lunch money stolen from him in the most painful way possible.

Out of options, Chris slowly turned around in his seat, shaking slightly as he starred up at one very big, one very tough, and one _very _angry Nisilaha. Her chest heaved in and outwards as she breathed heavily, her hot breath pouring out of her mouth like a waterfall and washing over Chris's face, ruining his beautiful complexion as little bits of saliva dripped from her mouth.

"Oh, uh, hey there!" Chris said nervously. "So, uh, how ya been?" he chuckled.

"CHRIS!" the Nisilaha roared, grabbing the little man in all four of her arms and easily heaving him off the ground, holding him over her head as she glared at him. "GIVE KIKO MONEY!" she bellowed.

"Wait, Kiko? Dude, what the heck happened to you?" Chris asked, now not the slightest bit afraid. "Looks like someone got hit one too many times with the ugly stick!" he joked, Kiko's four eyes narrowing. "Where's all this hatred coming from, huh? Can't take anymore humiliation to your oh-so-precious person?" he cracked, Kiko grinding her teeth upon hearing the words. "Or is it because of the time you somehow got turned into a freak of nature?" Chris chided, somehow missing Kiko's furious expression.

"KIKO WANT MONEY NOW!" the Nisilaha bellowed, tightening her grip on Chris's throat as his face turned blue in color. "GIVE KIKO MONEY!"

"Maybe . . . I c-can interest you . . . in a membership at the McLean . . . Spa?" Chris choked out before Kiko had finally had enough and chucked Chris across the beach and into a palm tree. The host groaned and dropped to the ground, a coconut dropping down from above and on his head. The Nisilaha bellowed and hefted up a large beam from the remains of the hut before chucking it into the forest beyond the beach, a large tree sparking with electricity before catching fire; Kiko ignored the damage and ran back into the forest, determined to cause more damage.

Maybe then Chris would listen to reason. Her reason anyway.

* * *

><p>"I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!" Alan cried in agony. Before any o the girls could stop him, the ex-pervert jumped free from the fox hole and straight into the open, running as fast as his legs could carry him. Considering he was still chained to Maurananei though, and she was easily four times stronger than he was, he didn't get very far.<p>

"Pull yourself together, man!" Maurananei yelled, yanking Alan back and slapping him across the face. "This is war, Private! I repeat, this is war!"

"Technically, it's a crazy version of hide and seek with Chef Hatchet." Caroline corrected.

"SAME THING!" Maurananei shouted. She was about to continue yelling at Alan, using some of the many confusing speeches her father had given her when he was disciplining her, when something caught her attention. She paused in mid-ranting to sniff the air, a very familiar smell reaching her nose; she had smelled it several times in the past, mostly when she had taken up smoking as a habit just to annoy her Dad; she had stopped after a couple weeks though, but she would lock that scent away in her mind for the rest of her days. Especially when she learned there had been a massive explosion down at the nearby gasoline factory, when some moron had accidentally thrown a lit cigarette near a barrel of the flammable liquid.

"Caroline, Alan, do you trust me?" she asked in a low, hollow, quiet voice.

"What!?" Alan managed to grunt between scratches.

"I said do you trust me!?" Maurananei repeatedly more angrily; Caroline and Alan both nodded their heads, Alan glad that the movement had managed to shake a few ants free from his head.

"Then hold on!" Maurananei yelled as she suddenly burst through the roof of their fox hole and dragged her fellow prisoners with her just as their shelter erupted into flame, red hot fire licking at the dry leaves and twigs like starving wolves on a carcass; Alan and Caroline watched the fire with wide eyes as Maurananei put on a grim expression, looking behind their now destroyed hide out to see a good section of the woods on fire. No matter what could have tried, they would not have been able to put out the quickly spreading fire.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but we have to warn Chris," Maurananei sighed wearily. "Something's wrong, and I think I know who's responsible."

"Mitchell?" Caroline guessed.

Maurananei shook her head. "Good try, but no." she said, pulling on Caroline's handcuffs and easily hauling her onto her shoulders. Alan took the hint and jumped into Maurananei's arms as she took off into the forest, the fire licking at her heels as it quickly began to engulf everything it came across like some horrific monster with a bottomless pit for a stomach. And yet, something walked through the forest of flames, alive and unaffected by the burning inferno as it walked to the edge of the fire to stare after Maurananei's disappearing form.

"It seems Kiko has made a good impression," Serphonus chuckled darkly, a blood aura surrounding his wiry form and keeping the red hot flames at bay. "And one by one, their heads 'ill all be mine."

* * *

><p>Micheal hated his life.<p>

Ever since he had found the Animatrix, he had seen the world through a million different eyes and had unimaginable power at his finger tips; speed, strength, agility, stealth, flight, he had experienced it all and never got tired of it, of feeling the watch force his body to change into something it never should have been and grant him powers he never had before.

But he also hated it. Ever since he had found the Animatrix, he had experienced unimaginable amounts of pain and torture course through his body when his foes had been lucky enough to catch him; the scars that littered his body were proof enough. Another thing he hated was how he never seemed to be able to relax for more a few hours before some maniac with a whole pile of screws loose tried to go and take over the world, forcing him to teach them a lesson or two the hard way. He found it nearly impossible to keep up a social life, and his grades were just above failing.

And now, he and Anuok were surrounded on all sides by searing flames that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, turning the tranquil forest into a burning death trap. But despite all the craziness and insanity the Animatrix had brought him, he wouldn't have traded it for anything in the world. Even when he was in danger of being burnt to a crisp like a little cocktail weenie.

Then again, he was practically unkillable at the moment. How could something kill him when it couldn't even catch him? Normally, he didn't like showing his odd, alien transformations since they often brought fright from other people and seemed to make challenges unfair in some cases. But for once, he was happy that he had purposely selected the beyond fast form he was in right now; it certainly helped when he was trying to outrun a raging inferno with Anuok in hand.

What concerned him though, was how the fire started in the first place, as it was quickly getting out of control. He highly doubted Mitchell would ever be that careless with his powers, and Maurananei didn't seem like the one to purposely start a fire as big as this. Caroline was too innocent, Trey didn't play with fire, and pretty much everyone else was unlikely a candidate as much as they liked Chef's cooking: impossible.

The advantage of being a Velocidadian was that not only was he incredibly fast, so fast that time actually seemed to stand still in his eyes when he was running, but he could also think at superhuman speed. And as he zipped through the burning woods with Anuok in his arms, silently praying that she would live, he began to realize several very unfortunate things about a certain someone.

Not only had this certain someone driven him to the brink of depression and insanity, as well as turned his time on the island on its head, she had also followed a very certain pattern comparable to that of past Total Drama villains. Sneaky, questionable, lazy in challenges, conniving, rude, and an all around horrible person who had their eyes only on the prize money.

Kiko.

And now that he realized it, she had been acting suspicious for the past couple of weeks. She was shifty and much more suspicious of people than usual, especially after she had kissed him in front of Caroline on international television; her hand. Her left hand had been hidden from view whenever she was with the main group, always hidden behind her back or shoved deep into her pocket out of sight.

At the same time, his Animatrix had been acting up during the past few weeks. Thankfully, it hadn't been going haywire during the challenges, but there were times when it seemed to be on the fritz. On several occasions he had been more lucky to survive a severe crash landing when the Animatrix timed out in mid-flight. And then it hit him like a freight train.

_Kiko_ was the reason the Animatrix was acting up. _She_ had somehow stolen a part of his own Animatrix to somehow make her own. _She _had started the raging inferno around them that threatened their lives. And if Micheal was correct, they were all in serious danger.

"God, save us all." he whispered under his breath as he zoomed towards the beach.

* * *

><p>Chris McLean, contrary to popular belief, had actually had some pretty bad days. There was the time he had been thrown off the dock at the end of season one, having his fame and popularity ruined on the Aftermath Show at the end of season two, being arrested at the end of season four, losing Wawanakwa at the end of the All Stars season, and even nearly losing Pahkitew to an insane Scarlett.<p>

None of the previously mentioned events however, compared to what was happening to him now. Not only had he nearly had every bone in his body broken by an insane, shape-shifting teenage girl, but his hair was messed up completely beyond repair. And to make matters worse, five of his super-powered contestants were currently yelling at him at the top of their lungs. Well, four of them were anyways; Anuok was actually making rapid hand gestures that Chris could only assume were were insults, curses, and other things that were meant to hurt his feelings in the verbal tense.

"Hey!" Chris cried, trying to get the contestant's attention without success. "Hey! HEY!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, finally getting the contestant's attention. "Thank you! Now then, I am _very _aware of what's going on right now." he announced sorely, rubbing his aching skull and nursing a large bump on his head.

"You better have a good excuse for not telling us about this!" Maurananei snarled, jabbing a finger at Chris's face.

"Of course I do," Chris frowned. "Just imagine the ratings we'd get for this episode!"

Maurananei snorted like a very ticked off bull and grabbed Chris by the neck, hoisting him up into the air and throttling him; nobody made any move to stop her. "Our lives are in danger and all you can think about are ratings!" she screamed.

"Our lives have always been in danger," Alan pointed out. "Just never so severely." Maurananei frowned at his point, but reluctantly dropped Chris to the sand and folding her arms over her chest.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't slice you in half." a Velocidadian hissed, rolling forward and jabbing a pointed claw at Chris's chest, putting a little pressure on the digit to emphasis his point.

"You can't really do that." Chris said smugly.

"Dude, you have no idea _what _I am capable of," Micheal growled, smacking Chris over the face with his tail. "And if Kiko's got a copy of my Animatrix, then I hope you've all written your wills." he stated.

"Are we gonna die?" Caroline whimpered. Micheal turned his head to stare at her, his eyes unblinking and never moving as he studied her, as if trying to poke and prod through her thoughts to figure out how she might react to what he might say.

"Very probably," he admitted grimly, shaking his head. "Does _anyone_ have _any _idea how this happened?" he sighed; immediately, all eyes turned to Chris. And for once, he was willing to spill his secrets. Either he was feeling generous, realized the gravity of situation, or was intimated by the five pairs of eyes that glared at him and promised death, it didn't matter.

"Okay, okay! Geez!" Chris griped, picking himself up and brushing sand off of him. "Kiko tricked Zelda into making a bootleg of your oh-so-precious watch for her own nefarious purposes! Happy?"

Deadly silence followed before a purple and black blur shot across the sand and pinned Chris to the ground, a long tail wrapped tightly around his throat and squeezing him tightly as it yelled at him. "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU'VE JUST DONE!?" Micheal screamed at the top of his lungs. "YOU JUST DOOMED THE ENTIRE HUMAN RACE AND POSSIBLY ALL LIFE ON EARTH!"

"It . . . can't be . . . that . . . bad!" Chris choked.

"You have no idea what power the Animatrix holds!" Micheal yelled, slapping Chris across the face. "With it, a person can destroy entire cities, slaughter millions without breaking a sweat, even obliterate a planet if they wanted to!"

"Is it really that bad?" Caroline whimpered.

Micheal whipped his head to stare at him again, his furious expression softening a bit as he answered. "You know that several of my forms are not of this world, right?" he asked.

Caroline nodded.

"Lets just say that it contains the DNA samples of some _very _powerful animals," the Velocidadian explained. "And now we're all doomed thanks to this **BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!**" he added, kicking Chris in his family jewels before climbing off of him.

"Isn't there like an off button or something?" Alan asked.

Micheal shook his head. "The only way to beat Kiko is knock her out and tear the Animatrix right off of her."

"B-but, it doesn't c-come off, right? It's permanent?" Caroline asked before realization dawned on.

Micheal nodded. "Yep. If we succeed, Kiko's gonna be one hand short. Not that I'll feel sorry for her." he added under his breath before turning to Chris and putting on a stern expression again. "Now listen here, you **BEEP! BEEP! **You're going to tell us if there is anyway to stall and/or defeat Kiko _now_, or I will literally skin you alive before international television. Starting with your 'oh-so-precious' face." he threatened, doing a perfect imitation of Chris's whiny voice.

Chris frowned; normally, he was not one to give in to such demands. More accurately, he was usually the one making them, making other people's lives miserable while he made his own luxurious and comfy. But now, with the lawyers breathing down his neck, the possibility of losing yet another island, and the very real threat that he would not live to see his next birthday thanks to the incredibly irritated teenagers before him, he was willing to make exceptions.

"Fine," he said with mock annoyance; deep down though, he was relieved he was most likely not going to receive anymore damage to his person. "As you all know, Pahkitew is artificial. There are mutliple entry points into his bowels, of which most are inaccessible due to Kiko's temper tantrum." he cast a look to the distant raging inferno. "Once you're in, you'll have to make it past the security systems and killer robots to make it to the control room to activate the island's main security system."

Anuok scribbled something down on one of her last remaining sheets of paper and held it up for Alan to read off of. "Uh, Anuok wants to know if there are any other nasty surprises you've failed to mention." he informed them.

Chris shook his head. "For once, I'm tellin' the truth. All you gotta do is get past all the stuff the last cast had to get by when Scarlett went insane. Now, if there is nothing else to take care of . . ." he trailed off. Before any of the teens, even Micheal, could stop him, Chris pulled out a small remote control and pressed the ominous red button on it. A large, metal claw descended from the sky and grabbed the back of Chris's shirt, yanking him towards the heavens and into the depths of a large helicopter. "What are you losers waiting for? Go save my island!" Chris yelled through a megaphone before flying away.

"I really hate him." Maurananei grumbled, absentmindedly giving Chris the one-finger salute before turning to the others. "You mind getting this thing off of us?" she asked Micheal, holding up both her wrists to show him the handcuffs. The Velocidadian nodded its head and, with two quick swipes of its sharp blades, it severed the chains bonding Maurananei, Alan, and Caroline together.

"Good luck, dude." Alan said to Micheal.

"With what?"

"Fighting Kiko?" Alan suggested. "There is no way the rest of us stand a chance against her!"

"Oh."

"Speaking of super powers," Maurananei grumbled under her breath annoyed that the subject was brought up. "Where are the others anyway?" she asked before realization dawned on them all, glancing towards the fiery forest behind them.

"Why do you hate me, universe? Why?" Micheal griped before speeding off.

* * *

><p>Chef had suffered through many horrible things in his life.<p>

Possibly being involved in the Vietnam War, losing everything he owned and being forced to sell non-quality hotdogs by the bus station, being forced to demonstrate challenges on Total Drama, even having his arm broken by a feral Ezekiel.

Being trapped in a raging inferno with four super-powered teens screaming their heads off however, was not on that list. One thing was sure however, he was not willing for it to be his last either. "Would y'all just shut up!?" he yelled at the top of his lungs, a noise that sounded very much like a ticked off grizzly bear; immediate, the teenagers stopped bickering.

"That's it, Chefy! Show 'em who's boss!" Izzy cried over his ear piece. "And while you're at it, use your squrity-gun to blast the fire!" The burly cook did as was suggested and pumped his water pistol, spraying a jet of water over the flames; it was fruitless however, as the fire simply swept back over the spot he had just finished. Before long, he was out of water and very annoyed.

"What do we do?" Trey asked, giving a small yelp when a bright ember wafted past his face and missed his nose by a millimeter.

"Are we all gonna die?" Paul worried.

"We're not all gonna die," Toni reassured him grimly. "Mitchell will probably live through this, considering he probably started the fire."

"I did not! Mitchell exclaimed, his head suddenly burst into hot flames. "Why won't you stop saying that!?"

"Because you're the Walking Bonfire," Toni pointed out. "I'm not trying to be mean here, but if anyone were to be suspected for starting a massive forest fire, it would be the dude would roast marshmallows over his burning toes."

"Girl's gotta point." Chef grumbled, not usually one to agree with people or even teenagers; Mitchell huffed and pouted as the flames continued to rage around them, getting closer and closer to them as they ate their way through the dry leaf litter of the forest floor. The air became thick and heavy with smoke as the group simply stood there, completely out of ideas on how to escape.

"Wait a minute," Toni realized. "Can't you just absorb the flames or something?" she asked Mitchell.

"I dunno. Worth a try!" he chirped happily.

"You are all too calm and happy to be in a situation like this." Chef muttered to himself as Mitchell took a running leap and cannon-balled into the ocean of flames, quickly morphing into his Pyronite form before the flames could incinerate him. The others waited with bated breath, their fates held entirely within Mitchell's hands; Toni would have gladly flown them all out of the raging inferno, but she didn't have any form big enough to carry all four of them out unscathed, and if Trey even attempted to blast their way to freedom with one of his sonic screams, the fire would only grow bigger with the massive amounts of oxygen fed to it.

"Woo-hoo!" Mitchell's triumphant voice came from the sea of fire. Everyone turned to see the boy covered from head to toe in magma rock skin, his head nothing more than a mixture of hot rock and crisp flames that sparked and spat out stray embers every now and then. The flames had parted before him like the Red Sea, defying the laws of nature as they bent to Mitchell's will. The Pyronite raised his hands to the sky, his fingers bent into claws as the flames were sucked by an unseen force towards Mitchell, pulled free from their meals of charred wood and burnt grass as they swirled around Mitchell in a fiery tornado.

"Remind me not to get on his bad side." Chef mumbled to Trey.

"Dooley noted." Trey agreed with awe, silently thanking the heavens that his guitar had been spared from being turned into a buffet for the fire. It was then that they were all bluntly aware of a loud sound coming through the crisp flames, something sounded distantly like a cross between a three year old girl having a temper tantrum and an angry elephant; before Mitchell knew what had happened, a pine tree came swinging through the air, catching him in the gut and slamming him to the ground, pinning the Pyronite underneath the tree as the flames that coated his body exploded outwards and back out into the forest, freshly catching fire once more.

"Darn that shape-shifting freak o' nature!" Chef cursed, just as a large claw came down from the sky and grabbed the back of his apron, hauling him towards the heavens as he screamed in panic.

"We're doomed!" Trey wailed.

* * *

><p>"Any particular reason ya just saved me from being smoked bacon?" Chef asked Chris as he sat down in the cock-pit of the helicopter and took hold of the controls; the unlucky intern who had previously been piloting the aircraft had mysteriously disappeared under suspicious circumstances, though a faint scream of fear that seemed to get farther and father away with every passing second until it was gone altogether.<p>

"Yeah, because your contract doesn't cover an untimely demise, unlike the contestants," Chris told him. "Also, Kiko's gone absolutely and completely insane with power."

"Ah, Chris Man, I didn't think you- WHAT!?" Chef startled, nearly crashing the helicopter into the ground before he managed to regain control. "Chris Man, don't do that!"

"Sorry, dude, but it's true. Ms. Uber-fan managed to get her grubby hands on Micheal's freaky watch, and is gonna destroy the island unless I hand her the million bucks!" Chris explained with frustration. "Side note, I am _not _giving her the million!"

"Didn't expect you to," Chef grumbled with a small smile. "So, we're pretty much leaving the suckas to die again?"

Chris shrugged. "If they manage to boot the security system up, then they may or may not live. Either way, imagine the ratings!"

"You do realize we'd have to start the season all over again, right?" Chef asked.

"Whatever!" Chris said with a tone that sent shivers down Chef's spine. "Either way, this is gonna be fun!

"Can't argue with you on that one." Chef agreed, bumping Chris's waiting fist.

* * *

><p>Trey instinctively went for his bass, playing an earth-shatter cord on his guitar and let out an ear-splitting wail. The sound wave traveled across the ground in less than the blink of an eye, kicking up burning twigs and leaves as it slammed into an upcoming figure, knocking them to the ground and dazing them slightly before they managed to recover.<p>

"Kiko will crush you like eggs!" an angry female Nisilaha roared, clenching two of her four fists.

"Wait, what the **BEEP! **is going on!?" Paul exclaimed upon seeing the hexapodal alien threatening to tear them limb from limb for unknown reasons.

"I dunno, but she just tried to crush with a tree," Toni frowned. "And I am not about to take that lightly!"

"Wait! Before you do anything, can you break us lose? I'd rather not be barbecued to the side of an elephant . . . or whatever you plan on turning into." Paul begged.

Toni gave him a small smile and focused on an image in her head; it was a form she had only used once, and even then she had wanted to turn into it. It was beyond her how Micheal could stand to turn into something so horrific, so vile, so _savage _and still, somehow, retain his humanity. She felt her bones grind and groan as they were forced to shift, her organs expanding and disappearing as the case may be. Toni felt her face shove out into a short muzzle, the skin around her mouth vanishing back into her face with a sicking sucking sound as the bottom teeth sharpened into wicked sharp fangs that curved up over the top jaw. Muscles piled themselves on top of her chest and back as her skint turned a pale white, her arms and legs thickening as they bent into different positions than before. A loud tearing sound managed to be heard over the crackling of the flames as her clothes were ripped off of her expanding form, a long, reptilian tail sprouting out from the base of her spine. A row of spikes rose out from Toni's spine as her fingers turned into blood red claws, her white skin turned black and red around the back face as her eyes divided into a second pair; she felt a pair of organs appear around her lungs, connected to the row of gill-like slits on either side of her neck.

"Gah!" Paul winced as the Lagarbuini let a savage snarl escape her caged teeth. Before Paul could stop her, Toni opened her jaws and bit down on the chain connected to Paul's wrist and her neck, shaking her head like a dog before the chain finally snapped and fell free.

"Thanks," Paul sighed with relief. "Now lets take of some business." The Lagarbuini watched with stunned amazement, its four slitted eyes widening in shock as Paul suddenly vanished into thin air, as if somehow being the victim of a mad magician's disappearing act. Her sensitive nose however, told her that her lover was still standing in front of her, just invisible to the naked eye; one would have to have some kind of built in sonar or heat vision to see him, and even then his camouflaging abilities put the greatest chameleons and octopuses to shame.

Mitchell meanwhile, was occupied from underneath the large pine tree, pinned just right so that he could watch Kiko and Toni battle each other. With a loud hiss, the Lagarbuini pounced upon the Nisilaha, tackling her to the ground and digging her razor sharp fangs into the flesh on her shoulder. Kiko bellowed in agony and shoved up on the alien predator's throat, thrusting her legs into its gut and pushing it off of her. Before the angry, four-armed alien could attack the large animal, something pounced on her and wrapped itself around her neck, squeezing tighter and tighter as her face jolted back and forth with every invisible punch. Her face started to turned a light shade of blue from lack of oxygen, and Mitchell thought for a second that Kiko might actually be defeated right then and there if she had hadn't managed to grab hold of her invisible attacker and pry him off of her. Mitchell could just make out pained yells as Kiko wadded Paul up into a tight ball and chucked him at a burning tree, eager to see him burn; her didn't come true when Toni managed to snag Paul out of the air and set him on the ground with her prehensile tail.

The Lagarbuini hissed angrily and sucked in a deep breath through its cage of teeth before expelling a disgusting, yellow-colored gas from the gill-like slits on her neck. The cloud quickly encased her and Paul, their forms fading as Kiko snarled and rushed at them, ready to crush them to bits. With angered yells, she jabbed her fists forward and gave a swift kick before cupping all four of her hands together and slamming them downwards; she missed every time, and when the cloud of gas vanished, there was nothing there. A loud whistle met her ears, and Kiko whipped around to see Trey, Mitchell, Paul, and Toni standing together before they all charged forward.

Despite being outnumbered, Kiko actually grinned as Trey raised his guitar over his head like a club, as Paul faded out of existence again, and Mitchell summoned burning coals in his hands, as Toni snapped her serrated jaws, she didn't feel the least bit afraid. She quickly raised all four of her arms over her head and slammed them into the ground, creating a small tremor that knocked the advancing teens to the ground and toppled nearby trees like dominos.

"_Now_, I will crush your skulls like-" Kiko started before a black and purple blur came out of nowhere and rammed her right in the chest, shoving her back a couple feet and slamming her into the trunk of a large tree. In less than the blink of an eye, the blur delivered six dozens jabs and thrusts to Kiko's armored skin before lashing out with his whip-like tail and knocking her to the ground; the Animatrix timed out seconds later, and Kiko returned to the world, groggy and dazed.

"Dude, Micheal! Is that you?" Trey breathed with relief upon seeing the Velocidadian standing over Kiko's fallen form; Micheal's own Animatrix timed out, and Micheal was finally revealed to the world. He looked much more haggled and worn out than last seen, his skin covered in dirty scratches and cuts, his eyes having a distant and tired look. It seemed he had aged a dozen years since last seen, but there was still that burning fire in his eyes.

"Get out while you still can," Micheal instructed them without even acknowledging Trey. "Get into the island's mainframe and activate the security system. I'll keep this **BEEP! **busy until then."

"Dude, we aren't just gonna leave you here!" Paul protested angrily. "I am not about to take being turned into a human bowl lying down!"

"Paul, think it through," Mitchell sighed wearily, extinguishing his flaming exterior. "He can change into animals, she can change into animals. He can change into freak aliens, she can turn into freaky aliens. Can you turn into either?"

Paul was silent.

"That's what I thought," Mitchell hummed. "Now lets get out while the going's good."

"Yeah, um, one small problem with that," Trey said calmly before exploding. "WE"RE SURROUNDED BY FIRE ON ALL SIDES!"

"Oh, that's easy," Micheal said without concern. "Just blast more fire at it."

"WHAT!?" Trey roared. "EVERYWHERE I SEE THERE'S RED HOT FIRE THREATENING TO BARBACUE ME ALIVE! WE DON'T NEED MORE FIRE!"

"Yes you do," Micheal reassured him. "If you apply more heat to the fire, it will quickly burn out. Believe it or not, I have a few fire forms inside this thing." he gestured to the Animatrix. "Now go. I think she's coming to."

The boys were about to protest some more before Toni had finally had enough and wrapped her tail around them both, hauling them up in the air and onto her back, Mitchell climbing on as well. With one last look that Micheal guessed was supposed to mean "good luck" the Lagarbuini took off through the burning forest, Mitchell blasting fire from her back to clear a way as Trey and Paul hung on for dear life. Micheal watched them go with a sad smile before turning around to face Kiko, who had managed to climb to her feet.

"This ends now." Micheal snarled, turning on the Animatrix and cycling through his available roster.

"Whatever you say, **BEEP!**" Kiko smiled sinisterly, turning to her own watch and cycling through the roster before slamming down on the activation button. The purple light engulfed, changing her body at the very core and forcing it into something it was never meant to be. She felt her bones grind and grow, her skin stretch and pulse, her entire body change into something new. By the time the purple light died down, she was now a very large _Tyrannosaurus Rex_, a loud roar of confidence escaping her massive jaws.

Micheal smirked and slammed his own activation button, not moving a muscle as the red light washed over him and did its work. He felt his body elongate and become segmented, stretching out to a good thirty feet. His arms bent in two more places as they hardened into insect-like legs before splitting into four extra pairs as random, curved spikes sprouted all along his back as his legs fused together into a tail with a clawed end. Micheal's face bulged outwards into a toothed beak as row after row after row of sharp teeth ran down his throat all the way to his stomach. A thick, red, spiked collar appeared around the gigantic, beaked worm's neck, completing the morph as the Golpgusanus a throaty roar.

Kiko charged forward, her jaws wide open and ready to catch Micheal in her gigantic jaws before Micheal slithered out of the way with ease, slamming his face into the dirt and disappearing down a long tunnel into the bowels of the earth. The dinosaur came to a halt, utterly confused as to where its massive prey was. A deep rumbling beneath her feet caught her attention, and she looked down just in time to see Micheal erupting out of the earth beneath her feet and catching her tail in his jaws. She roared in agony as the Golpgusanus shook its head like a dog and swung her around before letting go and swinging into a tree. The gigantic worm bellowed again, preparing to tunnel beneath the ground and catch its prey unaware for a second time when a beeping sound caught it attention; the Animatrix disk on Kiko's collar was blinking, a bright ray shooting out and sweeping all over his body, scanning him, before retreating back into the Animatrix and engulfing the in a bright purple light.

Before the Golpgusanus realized what was going on, a second Golpgusanus slammed into it, burrying both of them into the ground. For a few minutes, they slither across one another, trying to bit each other with their steel-bending jaws before Kiko managed to fling Micheal out of the hole and back out into the world of fire.

With a grunt, Micheal reached with a spiked leg to tap the Animatrix symbol on his collar, relaxing as the red light briefly changed him back into his human form before injecting him with another set of DNA. The process began with every hair on his body sucking back into his body, his arms becoming muscled and his fingers fusing together into a single, long, curved blade. The muscles on his chest and sides depleted until one could see his ribs as his a long tail sprouted from the base of his spine and his legs bent backwards. His face melted into a sharp point with absolutely no jaws at all. Instead, a flap opened up in his chest and a long tentacle with a sharp, hollow spike on the end slithered, dripping with some kind of venom. Spikes ran down from the creature's eyeless face and back as a thin membrane spread between the alien's wrists and hips, the transformation complete as another red collar aappeared around the Scythetoe's serpent-like neck.

The Scythetoe drove its pointed blades into the bark of a burning tree and scurried up the trunk and into the branches, watching the ground beneath for any sign of its enemy. A deep rumbling came from his right and he jumped free of the burning tree as Kiko erupted out the ground again, screeching at the top of her lungs and expelling a barrage of thick, sticky globs from her serrated jaws. The globs stuck to anything they hit and made a loud hissing sound as they ate away at the material like acid. The Scythetoe paid the acid balls no mind as it glided through the air on its membranes like a flying squirrel, gliding from tree to tree to avoid the deadly attack. The Golpgusanus screeched with anger before a second low beeping caught its attention and managed to glance down at the collar around it neck to the see the Animatrix scan the Scythetoe with a purple ray.

Micheal gave a low hum of fear as Kiko's Animatrix forced her to change back into her human form, the watch face glowing brightly on her wrist.

"Like the little trick?" she asked with a sadistic grin. "Anything you turn into, I can to! Sooner or later, you'll run out of forms and I'll have your Animatrix mounted on my mantel." she added with a malicious smile.

The Scythetoe gave a low growl before lunging at Kiko, raising his pointed blades and ready to slice her to bits.

* * *

><p>"You know who I really hate right now?" Maurananei grumbled under her breath.<p>

"Do their names happen to rhythm with 'Piccolo and Abyss'?" Alan asked with a smirk.

"What?"

"I just asked, are their names Kiko and Chris?" Alan rolled his eyes.

"You know me so well." Maurananei flirted with him, pinching his cheek before moving on. Alan flushed a dark red as he was yanked after Maurananei, still chained to her and Caroline through the negligence of their cruel and annoying host. The hallway they waked was dim, the lights overhead nearly turned off and only flickering every few seconds as a deep rumbling could be heard from somewhere beyond the walls.

"Where do we even go?" Caroline wondered; she felt a light tapping on her shoulder and she turned to see Anuok standing right behind her. The nervous girl yelped and jumped back a little, startled as Anuok scribbled something out on her notepad.

"Anuok says we need to continue on and then turn right, then left, left again, and then straight ahead until we find the control room," Caroline relayed to the others. "And um, something about getting ready to duck and cover at any given moment."

"Is it just me, or does it seem like we're going to die at any moment?" Alan whimpered upon hearing the words. A deep rumbling came to their attention as the ceiling trembled and shook, pieces of metal and wire falling free from above and raining down on them. The rumbling only increased further and got louder and louder until the ceiling above came crashing down just a few feet in front of the cowering teens. When the dust cleared, two massive animals appeared.

The first one looked like a massive, beaked worm with six pairs of legs up near its head. Curved spikes popped out at random intervals along its back, and its four, beady red eyes were filled with rage and anger. The second animal was much more strange, bearing resemblance to mostly a horse the size of an elephant. The beast had six legs tipped with sharp hooves and had deep grooves running down its neck and sides, the fleshy trenches fluttering open and shut like an extra pair of lungs. A sharp fan that resembled a mane ran down its long neck and a pair of whip-like antennae appeared on either of the animals's head like a pair of ears.

The six-legged animal, what Anuok claimed was a Hexcavalo (everyone was inclined to believe her as none of them knew a thing about Xenobiology) gave a throaty screech like that of a wounded bird and reared up onto its hindlegs, lashing out with the four front hooves and managing to land a couple blows to the Golpgusanus's face. And before any of the teens could figure out what was going on, the alien animals disappeared, the Hexcavalo bounding out of the hole that had been created from their battle, and the Golpgusanus burrowed through the side of tunnel after it.

"Anyone else hoping that this is all just some horrifying dream?" Caroline whimpered.

Maurananei was about to answer when a second rumble meant their ears. Expecting Kiko and Micheal to appear once more as another series of bizarre alien animals, the group ducked to the ground again, covering their heads and squeezing their eyes shut. And then suddenly, they were soaking wet and absolutely chilled to the bone. That, and they felt as if both a Hexcavalo and Golpgusanus were currently lying on top of them.

"I told you we should have turned left!"

"No you didn't, you said we should go right!"

"_HIIIISSSSSSSSS!_"

"Toni! Language!" Caroline scolded.

"What the-" Maurananei grunted, pulling herself lose from the pile of twisted bodies and limps to see Mitchell, Trey, Paul, and a seriously annoyed Lagarbuini lying on top of Caroline and Alan; Anuok stood a few feet away, cleaning her fingernails with her daggers.

"I'm starting to really hate you," Maurananei said with an annoyed tone upon see the mute girl unscathed. "And as for you, do you mind telling us what you're doing here?" she turned onto their new arrivals.

"Micheal sent us to give you a hand," Trey grunted, pulling himself free from the pile and then grabbing his guitar and yanking it out. "That, and he wanted to keep everyone else safe while he and Kiko beat each other senseless."

"A fat good of luck that did," Alan groaned, pointing with a twitching hand towards the gaping hole in the ceiling. "And why are we soaked?"

"We had to take a detour through the lake," Paul explained. "And let me just say it was not pleasant whatsoever."

"You have no idea." Mitchell grumbled, wringing out his wet hair as Toni climbed to her feet and gave herself a good shake. The large alien predator then focused on another image in its primitive mind; the changes soon began. Her tough hide softened and turned a dark mocha brown in color, the spikes along her vertebrae sucking back into the skin with a sickening sound as her tail curled back up into her spine. Her four legs cracked and bent back into opposite positions, the razor sharp claws dulling and softening into toes and fingers. The cage of teeth retreated back into Toni's face, the razor sharp fangs dulling and becoming flat as her lips returned. Her blood red eyes turned brown and rotated from the side of her head back to the front as the gill-like slits disappeared from her thick neck. Muscles become more sluggish than before as a full head of dark, brown hair appeared on her head. The final piece of the transformation was the addition of her clothes, much to everyone's relief.

"Now that we have formalities out of the way, lets get going while the goings good," Toni grunted, cracking her sore back. "I dunno how much longer Micheal and stall Kiko."

"I don't know how much longer I can stall her," Micheal gritted his skin as he picked himself up from a nasty fall and brushed himself off. He had managed to move the battle away the raging inferno towards the beach, where there was much more room to deal with.

* * *

><p>"Ready to give up yet?" Kiko smirked.<p>

"Not a chance!" Micheal snarled.

"Tsk, tsk," Kiko tut-tutted. "Haven't you ever heard the saying 'You can't teach an old dog new tricks'?"

"Yeah, well this dog's got more fight in him!" Micheal yelled, turning on the Animatrix and slapping the activation button without even bothering to look at which form he had selected. The red light engulfed him. His back broadened and expanding, his form becoming massive in size as his two arms suddenly became six, his fingers fusing together into two sharp claws as his body became segmented and his back became spiked and armored. A long tail sprouted from the base of his spine, becoming spiked and armored as four spikes appeared on the end. Micheal's legs split into a second pair, his toes molding together into three sharp talons as his face bulged out into a large muzzle. Four, sharp horns sprouted out from behind his gigantic jaws, his tongue becoming long and pointed as a hollow horn appeared above his sharp eyes. The final piece of the transformation to the large, dinosaur-like predator was the addition of the familiar spiked collar around his neck.

"That's new." Kiko gulped as the Centisaurus Rex bellowed and snapped its gigantic jaws just an inch from Kiko and missing. Before the small girl could do anything, a thick webbing shot out of the hollow horn on the predator's face, splattering all over Kiko and trapping hero the ground. The beast backed up and then charged forward, leaving gigantic footprints in the sand as it bared down its ensnared prey with a mighty bellow.

But once more, the universe did not smile down on Micheal. The now annoyingly familiar scanning ray panned out from Kiko's Animatrix and examined the Centisaurus Rex with a purple glow before the watch forced Kiko's body to change and contort into an identical alien theropod. The two predators, now wary of each other, circled one another, low growls reverberated in their deep throats. While Micheal had skill and more forms than Kiko, she had pure madness and the advantage of having the scanning mode on the entire time during the fight. With a loud roar, Micheal charged forward and rammed its head into Kiko's chest, pushing with all of his might and ignoring the scratching pain of Kiko's small arms and the repetitive movement of her jaws moving. With a final push, Micheal managed to shove Kiko off of him and sprayed another jet of webbing over her, tying her lethal jaws shut tight in the hopes of subduing her. However, the webbing only seemed in subduing prey and not members of the same species as Kiko easily broke free and clamped her jaws on one of his four thighs.

Micheal bellowed in pain and lashed out with his tail, managing to drive his four spikes into her armored back. But Kiko didn't left go and only sunk her teeth in deeper, pushing with her head and digging her massive feet into the sand until Micheal finally fell over on his side, unable to get up.

_**Confessional**_

"I hate to admit it, but I think I might be losing my touch," Micheal sighed. "Then again, most of enemies can't exactly change into the same forms I can."

_**End Confessional**_

A red light engulfed Micheal, returning him back to his human form. If gigantic, alien predators could grin, Kiko would have been doing it right then and there as she shot out a spray of webbing from the horn on her face, pinning Micheal to the ground and trapping him. Micheal groaned and looked up with a defeated expression as Kiko towered over him, saliva dripping from her haws as she savored the moment of assured victory.

Micheal didn't know what to do now. It seemed no matter what he did, it was never enough. No matter how many times he kicked evil's butt, it always kicked back harder than he had, forcing him to kick back even harder, continuing the eternal cycle. And now, he had finally slipped up, and about to be devoured by a Centisaurus Rex no doubt. But what Micheal found strange was that he was actually okay with dying. It wasn't like the world was going to miss him anyway; he had never become world famous for his feats (not that he wanted to), and was quite happy living a semi-normal life. Sure, his family and few friends would mourn, but he wouldn't be openly missed. And even if he was world famous, it wasn't like it mattered. He had no one special to care for, nor no one special to care for him.

"Come on," he surrendered. "Do your worst."

* * *

><p>"How much farther?" Caroline panted, pressing herself against a wall as a flock of mutated starfish zoomed by, large, single eyes glowing a threatening red in the center of their bodies.<p>

"I think _(pant) _we're almost _(pant) _there," Trey breathed. "Damn, why does Chris have to have such a twisted mind?"

"I swear, when this show is over, I am going to borrow Courtney's lawyers and sue Chris for everything he's got." Maurananei grumbled under her breath, noticing a sigh above her head that read 'Surveillance Room' and pointed towards the door right next to her. "Might as well as see how Micheal's doing." she said aloud, pushing the door open and dragging Caroline and Alan along with her. Blank screens greeted them in the dim light, the system booting up as it sensed them in the room.

"Welcome, Chris McLean." a mechanized voice responded to their presence. Maurananei ignored the voice and pressed a blinking button. With a low hum, the screens blinked to life, becoming static-like before eventually coming to their images, showing dozens of different images around the island; the burning forest, the rolling lake waves, Chris's helicopter, and finally, Micheal trapped underneath a massive Centisaurus Rex. And what seriously surprised Maurananei was that he wasn't doing a thin about it.

"What's he doing?" Caroline asked worriedly, biting her lip.

"Giving up, I think." Alan frowned.

"What?" Caroline whimpered.

"I said, I think he's giving up," Alan repeated, not noticing Caroline's worried expression. "As in, quitting, departing, throwing in the towel, relinquishing his rein, withdrawing from the challenge. Long story short, he's done." he listed off, earning a slap upside the head from Maurananei; Alan gave her a confused look before noticing tears starting to well up in Caroline's eyes.

Why was he giving up? Why was Micheal of all people, surrendering to a fate most would consider worse than death? Caroline bit her lip, remembering how depressed he had become after the music challenge, being to upset to even show up for the challenge, much to Chris's annoyance. And according to the rapid hand gestures from Anuok, she figured he had become even worse ever since then without someone else to keep him company. His fun spirit had faded away thanks to Kiko's wickedness, and she was prepared to take anyone who got in her way down with her, an act that absolutely horrified and disgusted Caroline.

Without thinking, she searched with panicking eyes until she found a stray microphone. She dashed over to it and snatched it up in her hands, starling Maurananei and Alan pulling them to the floor as she made sure it was hooked up to the intercom system before speaking into it.

"Micheal? Micheal!" she practically yelled into the microphone. She watched as the large alien predator startled and jerked its head back and forth in an attempt to find the source of the noise; Micheal, thankfully, was also listening, albeit with a defeated look. "Come on, don't give up! We're all counting on you!" she cried. Micheal now seemed to be listening. "You may not think it, but we need you! All of us need you! _I_ need you." her voice croaked before she set the microphone down. She watched with pleading eyes as Micheal shifted and managed to free one of his arms as Kiko finally got over the mysterious voice and roared at Micheal, moving her head down to swallow him. By then, Micheal broke his other hand free and turned on the Animatrix, cycling through his transformations before coming across the one he needed and he slammed the activation button, injecting a new set of DNA into his bloodstream. Everything about him began to change in one single way: it got big. It got huge. It got enormous as Micheal's frame rocketed upwards towards the sky, dwarfing everything below him and even making the 1,001 foot tall cliff look like nothing more than a large pile of dirt and rock. His skin turned a pale, metallic white and four large, red thin blades growing out of his wrists and arms, fins sprouting from his waist, wrists, and shoulders. Four large, thin red crests rose up from his head, adding to his height. Hard, metal knobs grew out from the corners of his mouth and he could feel a pair of organs forming in his hands, filling up with a sort of corrosive acid. A pair of large, fingerless gloves appeared on his hands and a series of black, leather straps and shorts appeared on his person with the Animatrix on a belt.

"How do you like me now!?" the Titaninite bellowed, completely dwarfing the Centisaurus Rex beneath his three hundred foot tall frame. The island was almost nothing more than a large backyard to him now, with the trees acting like blades of grass and the hills like rocks. With a massive hand, Micheal reached down and picked up the teeny-tiny predator in his fingers, bringing her up to eye level and giving her a malicious look. But once more, fate did not smile down on him. A tiny beam of purple light shot out from Kiko's collar and scanned over his massive frame, pulling back into the Animatrix and blinking as it changed its wearer into the newly scanned DNA.

In a sudden flash of purple light, there was another Titanite standing across from Micheal, her crests forming what looked like an odd representation of pig tails and wearing a black and purple uniform that showed off her curves. "Winner take all!" Kiko roared, charging forward. Caaroline watched as Kiko tackled to the ground and swung her arms, slugging him across the face twice before cupping her hands together and slamming them down on his throat. Micheal buckled for a moment before he managed get his legs underneath her and thrust her off of him, pouncing on top of her and headbutting her in the skull.

"I gotta admit; he's got skill." Maurananei noted.

* * *

><p>Far above the island, in a shimmering purple sphere that allowed him to observe the world undetected, Serphonus watched the battle between the giants as they quickly got into a shove match, neither one relenting or strong enough to outdo the other. It wasn't until Micheal faked faulting and managed to get under Kiko's guard to deliver a quick upper cut did things get interesting. With his opponent stunned, Micheal drove his massive fists into her chest and face, driving her back until he grabbed his head in hers and delivered a swift headbutt. The titan stumbled around for a few seconds as Micheal caught his breath before crossing her arms over his chest, a loud hissing filling the air.<p>

"**BEEP!**" Micheal swore as he somersaulted backwards and ducked down low to the ground as a large blast of corrosive liquid blasted out from Kiko's wrists, spraying in a near horizontal line as she aimed for Micheal's crests; he ducked low enough just in time for the wave of acid to pass overhead, eating right through the tall mountains that surrounded them and sending tons of rubble and debris tumbling down their slopes. With an enraged bellow, Kiko charged forward, determined to end him as she tackled him to the ground. Micheal, having more experience, quickly used her momentum to roll back just enough to kick her off of him and send her flying. But the giant didn't stop there; he quickly ran after her falling form, crushing trees under him like blades of grass and giant boulders like pebbles, did he push off from the ground and into the air, doing a quick flip and slamming his foot down as Kiko finally fell to her, his foot connecting with her face and driving it into the bowels of the island. But Micheal didn't stop there. He grabbed hold of Kiko's leg and hauled her entire weight into the air, swinging her around and around.

Down below, Serphonus could just make out the tiny forms of the other contestants scurrying about like ants in the labyrinth of tunnels that twisted and turned beneath the island's surface. It seemed fitting to the witch doctor that looked like ants, absolutely helpless to the titans that stormed about above them, ignorant of their surroundings and unaware when they might meet their end. Serphonus watched as Micheal then slammed Kiko's weight into the ground, drawing back a fist and punching her in the face. With a grunt, Kiko reached up and wrapped her arms around Micheal's neck, squeezing her grip and pulling his face down to the ground in an attempt to choke him.

What the mad Titanite did not notice however, was that not only were she and Micheal in a very awkward position that would have raised a few eyebrows, but their Animatrix watch faces were touching, ominous and dangerous amounts of electricity and feedback pulsing and dancing all over the two behemoth's bodies. Two flashes of red and purple light suddenly engulfed the two titans and brought Kiko and Micheal back into the world, both teens attached to each other by the dangerously sparking watches on their wrists.

"Let go of me, you **BEEP!**" Kiko screamed as she pulled on her arm.

"Don't you think I would if I could, **BEEP!**" Micheal shot back. "The Bio-Feedback is too much for us to pull apart! And did I mention that this is all your fault!?"

"No, it's your fault!" Kiko yelled.

"Who was the one that made an _incomplete_ copy of _my _Animatrix!" Micheal shot back before suddenly crying out in agony as the feedback from the watches got even worse, intensifying tenfold. To him it felt like someone had taken every single of his nerves and yanked them out one at a time with a pair of rusty pliers, dipped them in a vat of acid, and then put them back into his body with a hammer in the hands of the Incredible Hulk. And, much to Kiko's horror, he began to change.

His back expanded outwards, becoming more muscled and fat as his arms quickly bulked up to over-sized proportions. A loud, sickeing noise that sounded like tearing flesh came to her attention as a large octopus tentacle suddenly popped out of Micheal's body and began to thrash around widely. She watched horror as Micheal's right arm began to twist and convulse in directions it was never supposed to be as a red light engulfed the limp and a very annoyed cobra, attached to Micheal's shoulder, took its place, the limp reappearing beneath the angry reptile. He now had a pair of Nisilaha arms where his regular arms should have been, a long octopus tentacle poking out of his left shoulder, and a very alive cobra where his right shoulder should have been. A loud cracking sound filled the air as a Lagarbuini tail ripped out from the base of his spine, nothing more than white bone before flesh and muscle covered it, and Titanite blades tore through his wrists. A thick lion's mane suddenly sprouted around Micheal's no longer human neck and his feet tore his shoes to shreds, now a pair of powerful eagle talons. A sickening slapping sound met Kiko's as a pair of massive bat wings tore out of the flesh on Micheal's back, flapping widely as if they had a mind of their own; his jaw jutted outwards in a massive under bite as his human teeth became razor sharp angler fish fangs and a pair of elephant tusks slashed out from his cheeks. A pair of bloodied bull horns sprouted from his skull as his organs sloshed around in side of him and dozens of Golpgusanus spikes popped out at random intervals in his thick rhino hide.

And then it all stopped.

Micheal was now ten foot tall freak of nature, an absolute abomination to everyone around him. And the worst part was that Kiko was absolutely fine; not a single hair on her pretty head had been harmed, her precious eyes still human and full of intellect. She still had ten digits to grasp with, ten toes to walk with, no tail or massive wings to hinder movement. She was completely normal, while he had been twisted beyond recognition.

"NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!" Micheal roared, slamming his large fists into the ground as the cobra hissed violently and the tentacle coiled into a tight fist. It was then through his sorrow and rage that he turned his gaze to Kiko, his sharp, hawk eyes narrowing upon seeing the normal girl; a low growl escaped the cage of teeth that lined his mouth. With loud bellow, he pounced onto Kiko, digging his talons into her ankles and pinning her to the ground by her shoulders. She desperately turned to her Animatrix, slapping it repeatedly with any success of activating it whatsoever.

"That won't work," Micheal growled, inching his head closer to her ear. "The Bio-Feedback's destroyed your _precious _watch." he hissed, driving his cobra arm into her neck and sinking the fangs into her flesh as she screamed.

"It should be expected, considering it was _incomplete_," he added, opening his jaws wide and shooting a jet of webbing out from beyond his teeth and trapping her to the ground by her wrists and neck. He then moved off of her and repeated the process to her ankles, thighs, and midsection, pinning her to the ground. "And considering you're too _stupid _to know the inner workings of such a complicated device, I will give _one _chance to tell me who is responsible. If you refuse . . ." he trailed off, opening his jaws wide and snapping them shut just an inch from Kiko's head.

Kiko's response was to spit in his eye, allowing a short amount of freedom as Micheal screeched and wiped the offending substence from his face.

"Wrong answer." he growled deeply, drawing back his fist.

"Hmmm," Serphonus hummed as Kiko's agonized screams for mercy rained over the island. "Perhaps I've made an alliance with the wrong person."

* * *

><p>Maurananei's breath caught in her throat as she pressed herself against the wall of the tunnel, a flock of flying, mutated starfish zooming past, their single eyes all glowing an ominous red as sought to fire lasers at whoever dared to intrude the island's secret areas. Alan and Caroline hid behind her imposing figure, catching their breath as the world above them trembled and shook.<p>

"Geez, it sounds like a war zone up there." Alan noted as a loud explosion came from down the hall.

"Up there? What about in here!?" Maurananei yelled over the noise, rushing the corner and dragging Caroline and Alan with her just in time to see Trey whack an android alligator over the ehad with his guitar and Mitchell to drive a flaming hand through a robotic bear's chest, tearing out wires and circutry and quickly diving out of the way as the droid exploded.

"Aw, I never get to have any fun!" Maurananei whined, just as a loud blaring sound took up and the world around them all began to flash red.

"I don't know what that means, but I don't like it!" Paul exclaimed.

"The lets get moving!" Maurananei roared, charging down the hallway with Alan and Caroline being dragged behind and the others racing after her, ignoring the alarms attempts to warn them of something. They raced down one hallway, another hallway, several more hallways until it seemed there was no end to the labyrinth of hallways traveling underneath the island's surface. More than once they came upon gaping holes in the ceiling that exposed them to the outside world that had been created by kind of massive creature; it didn't take much a of a genius to figure out who that was. After what seemed forever, they finally came across the door to the control room.

There was one slight problem though.

**_Confessional_**

"Can I just say that being handcuffed to someone like Maurananei is a horrible idea?" Alan groaned, rubbing his sore skull.

_**End Confessional**_

"It's locked!" Maurananei yelled with frustration, repeatedly punching the door with her fists they eventually began to bleed and Alan managed to convince her to stop; this didn't stop her from giving the imposing door one last kick and stubbing her toe in the process.

"Let me take a crack at it." Mitchell suggested, pushing past Maurananei and up to the door. Instead of repeatedly punching the door in the hopes that it would surrender its secrets to them or trying to hack the keypad like a normal person would have done, Mitchell merely summoned blazing hot coal into his hands and pointed them at the door, cranking up the heat so that door simply melted off its hinges and into a glowing red puddle of molten metal on the floor.

"Show off." Maurananei grumbled as she held her bleeding fists and stepped over the liquid metal and into the control room, met with dozens of blank screens that blinked to life upon sensing someone's presence.

"Welcome, Chris McLean." the computer's voice responded.

"Can I at least destroy the main frame once this whole mess is over?" Maurananei asked Anuok, who merely shook her head no. Paul pushed past the girls and over to the main control panel, cracking his fingers and then typing away at a furious pace. The group watched in stunned silence as Paul quickly sifted through the island's files and hacked into its mainframe without trouble, easily bypassing any fire walls and other attempts to stop him from entering. Within moments, he had found the code to activate the island's security system. Instead of selecting the code and pushing the starting button however, Paul dug around on the floor for a bit befo0re coming up with a monkey wrench in hand and slamming it into the control panel. The mainframe sparked for a few seconds giving a low groan and finally humming to life.

"Island Security System Activated." the computer announced.

"Why did you have to hit it?" Trey asked, confused.

"System was full of bugs," Paul shrugged as he sat down in a chair to rest. "They really need to upgrade their systems."

"I didn't know you were a computer genius." Toni smiled, pecking Paul on the cheek.

"There's a lot you don't know about me, babe." Paul smiled.

"So, what now?" Caroline asked worriedly.

"Now, we wait and hope things end well." Paul sighed.

* * *

><p>Zelda groaned and blinked her eyes at the hazy world around her. Her lungs were on fire and her body suddenly jolted and bounced as she coughed heavily. Her entire body was sore, more than sore actually. Every single part of her ached to the full extent of the word, especially her hand; it felt like someone had dropped an anvil on it, and from the way it was swelling and pulsing, she could tell it was broken. Her head was pounding, and her vision was blurry at best. At first, she thought damage had been done to her eyes, but she soon felt her other senses come back to her; she could hear the crackling of hot flames, the smell of burning wood, the burning sensation that crept across her skin as the flames licked away at her clothing. With her one good hand, she quickly patted them out and tried to stand up.<p>

She suddenly cried out and slumped back against the tree, her spine pulsing with pain as her legs refused to work. Her brilliant mind was racing, telling her that damage gad been done to her nervous system, the last blow to her spine cutting off all commands to her legs; she was paralyzed.

_So this is how it ends_, she thought, her lips too cracked and her throat too dry to even speak much more than a pained squeak or sickly croak. _Barbecued alive inside of a giant wood oven. Not one of the worst fates I could have met, but certainly not pleasant,_ she added, hissing as a stray ember leaped on her bare shoulder. _Can't say I didn't deserve it though. I betrayed Micheal just because Kiko claimed I owed her a favor, and I built her a copy of the universe's most dangerous weapon. God, what is wrong with me?_

She licked her dry lips, wincing as her tongue ran over the rough flesh. Instantly, her lips were dried and cracked again from the sheer heat of the surrounding inferno; it was a wonder she wasn't already dead yet. Suddenly though, she was wishing she was. Tears started to fall freely from her eyes as she simply wished for her life to end. If she even managed to survive this mess, she would have nothing to go back to. Her only friends on the island would hate her for the rest of her days, her parents would be greatly disappointed in her, and if she even tried to go back to school . . . she wouldn't be able to handle all the hate her classmates would send her way. It seemed impossible that the daughter of a brilliant scientist could not have seen this whole mess coming, could not of found someway to make it stop.

A faint roar meant her ears, and she was thankful that she would be the first one to die at Kiko's hand, for she knew she would not be the last. Unless Micheal somehow managed to stop her before she went after the world that is. The thought of Micheal made her head throb again; he was going to be _so_ angry when he found out. If he hadn't found out already.

"Zelda!"

She blinked her bleary eyes; now she was hearing voices. And not only was she hearing deep, throaty voices calling her name, but she was hearing what sounded like massive wings beating against the sky. How she was able to hear all of this beyond the crackling fire and snapping trees, she did not know.

"Zelda!"

Oh, when would these crazy hallucinations stop torturing her? She swore that the voice actually sounded like it would care for her, come to rescue her inside of punish her for her wicked deeds. When would it stop plaguing her, the fact that after all she had done, someone would actually take pity on her? She deserved to die, she was okay with that. She had nothing left to live for.

"ZELDA!"

She blinked her bleary eyes again and managed to tilt her head up far enough to see a large figure standing over her, a burning tree trunk in his first pair of muscled arms that he quickly tossed over his shoulder. A coiled octopus tentacle was sticking out of its left shoulder with the first half of a cobra jammed into his right shoulder. A pair of massive bat wings shielded his spiked back from the searing flames, his eagle talons dug deep into the earth as his Lagarbuini tail swished about. The face truly monstrous, nothing more than a cage of teeth, sharp tusks, horns, and glaring eyes.

"Zelda, can you hear me?" Micheal growled.

Zelda blinked; why was this strange creature of twisted parts concerned for her safety? Would it not rather see her burn? She managed to nodded her enough for the creature to understand. Without another word, the twisted mutant wrapped its tentacle around her waist and pulled in tight towards its chest, cradling with its muscled arms as it beat its wings to take to the air. Within seconds they were above the raging inferno, and Zelda could finally breath again.

"Who?" she managed to croak, wincing as her hand was painfully crushed against the mutant's thick hide; the tentacle reached down carefully picked up her hand by the wrist and set it across her stomach in a more comfortable position.

"Can't say I blame you for not know who I am," the creature gave throaty growl that sounded distinctly like words. "The Bio-Feedback from the Animatrixes changed me."

"Kiko?" Zleda croaked.

"Micheal." the beast corrected her.

"Why?" she asked as the cobra head came slithering down to look her over; Micheal noticeably got madder upon seeing her injuries through the reptile's eyes.

"Hey, as much as I would like to beat you senseless for doing something this stupid, I know Kiko's the real culprit," Micheal told her. "Doesn't mean I'm not mad though."

Zelda nodded and closed her eyes, her consciousness ebbing away. Micheal held her tighter, letting her doze off as he carried her away from the forest fire and to the island's bonfire area, the one place on the island that wasn't currently burning.

* * *

><p>"The bonfire seems kinda pointless, considering half the island's on fire," Toni noted.<p>

"Three quarters." Zelda corrected, barely more than a whisper; the girl was stuck in a wheelchair, her hand in a cast, several layers of bandages around her head, and a back brace keeping her aching spine in place. Kiko however looked far worse, covered in horrible looking scratches and cuts that went all the way down to the bone. Her face purple, black, and blue in color, her eyes swollen shut and her head having a few less teeth in it than before. Her legs were twisted at odd angles, and she was slumped carelessly over a log as everyone glared at her; her left hand was nothing than a bloody mess of torn muscle and bone, the skin completely gone.

Caroline took one look at the mess that was Kiko's Animatrix hand and promptly emptied her stomach contents all over the ground, doing a second time before finally stopping, Maurananei rubbing her back the whole time. The rest of the cast was seated on barrels and logs scattered about the bonfire area. Toni and Paul shared a log, Toni leaning into Paul's embrace as they both shit daggers at Kiko, not feeling sorry for the girl in the slightest. Caroline, Maurananei, and Alan all sat in a row, Caroline softly groaning and wiping her lips free of vomit. Mitchell and trey sat a good deal apart, Trey having had enough fire to last him a life time as Mithcell picked away at his fingernails. Wilson was completely silent, sitting far away from everyone and trying to look invisible as Micheal sat off to one side with Anuok, far too big and frightening by Chris's standards to sit with the rest of the contestants; Anuok had decided to keep him company, considering Caroline was still handcuffed to Maurananei.

"Well now, I think it goes without saying who's getting the boot tonight for _destroying my island!_" Chris yelled angrily. "All in favor of eliminating Kiko, say 'I'!"

"_**I!" **_everyone cried in unison, jamming their hands into the air.

Micheal then got up from the and lumbered over to Kiko, grabbing her shaking form as she screamed in terror, anger, fear, and rage at being eliminated. She thrashed around in the mutant's grip, but it did nothing to aid her in her escape as Micheal marched down the Dock of Shame of towards the Submarine of Shame to fire her out of the Torpedo of Shame and out of their lives altogether. Without even trying, Micheal climbed on top of the sub and punched a hole clean through, jumping down into the sub and causing it sink a little bit. The sounds of one-sided fight soon followed before silence. A loud explosion came from one end of the sub as Kiko was fired, screaming, off to the horizon, never to be heard from again.

"Uh, Micheal? Do you mind changing back in you?" Chris asked. "You're starting to give me the creeps."

"What, was the way I punished Kiko too violent for you?" Micheal asked with toothy grin that sent shivers down everyone's spines.

"Uh, yeah! The network won't let us show the footage of you doing that . . . stuff . . . to Kiko. It's too violent, man!" Chris yelled.

"Whimps." Micheal grumbled as he reached for red belt around his waist that kept a pair of torn, black shorts up. He slapped the Animatrix symbol on the buckle with knuckle and waited for the red light to wash over him, to force all the monstrosities that had grown on him to disappear, to be sucked back into the Animatrix and return him back to his human form. Seconds passed, and nothing happened. Then a few minutes. And soon a quarter of an hour without any results.

"I hate to break to you, but it seems you're stuck like that." Maurananei told him.

"Should've known. The Bio-Feedback was too great anyways." Micheal grumbled.

"I-I could try to fix your . . ." Zelda started before getting one good look at the stern glare from Micheal's piercing eyes. "Never mind." she squeaked.

"If anyone needs me, you won't be able to find me." he added as he spread his leathery wings and took to the skies, flying back over the forest as the fire began to fly down. Caroline watched him go, wanting to chase after him and tell him she was sorry for thinking he had intentionally kissed Kiko, to have him hold her and tell it was alright and that he still cared for her. But Micheal had eluded everyone of her friends for nearly a week without any sign of him; if he didn't want to be found, that was the end of that.

"Well, it seems things have taken turn for the strange!" Chris announced to the camera. "Will Micheal and Caroline ever get back together? Will Wilson be able to still be him? And will Zelda ever regain the trust of her friends? Find out next time, on Total! Drama! Pahkitew's Vengeance!"

**Yo, _Creaturemaster _here! Sorry this took so long. There's just been one thing after another that's prevented me from working on this thing. And on top of my computer issues, this chapter nearly never happened.**

**And sorry if the last part of this story seemed a tad rushed. To put it simply, I had quickly gotten tired of this chapter, especially after my computer crashed _twice_ and I had to rewrite everything I had made progress on. It's not fun, let me tell you.**

**Anyways, I'm out! Peace!**


	12. TDPV Aftermath II: The Bold & the Insane

**Hey, everyone! I'm back with another chapter! Or to be more specific, back with an Aftermath show!**

As I have nothing else to say, lets get right down to it!

**Onward!**

"Hiya, handsome." a silky voice purred seductively. Chef yelped and nearly dropped his device into the hot tub with him, screaming like a little girl upon finding Maurananei standing next to him, resting her head on his broad shoulders and seductively tracing a delicate finger over his collarbone.

"What are ya doin' in here!?" Chef yelled, half in anger and half in fright; the girl was seriously starting to scare him. Not only she try to flirt with him whenever she laid eyes on him, but he had begun to notice several things had gone missing over the past few days; his wooden spatula, his favorite cook's hat, a spare apron, and even the hair on his short beard. He shuddered at the thought and threw Maurananei his best glare, but she didn't even flinch under it, instead giggling like a little girl.

"Checking up on my Chefy Wefy, of course!" she explained, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Chef, the big, bad, muscled hash slinger who could face the worst of the worst, was now shivering under the mere words of a head-over-heels-in-love girl. With a scream of fright, Chef jumped out of the hot tub, trying to make a run for it. Unfortunately for him, Maurananei grabbed him by his trunks and yanked him back into the hot tub with a splash, slipping off her own clothing and revealing a brand new, white bikini that was very revealing and climbing into the tub with him.

By now, Chef was incredibly creeped out as Maurananei sidled up him and wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders, tracing a single finger over his well defined muscles. She then gave him a sexy smile and lightly stenciled her tongue over Chef's collarbone, finding him to taste surprisingly well; Chef however was getting beyond uncomfortable. It wasn't until Maurananei's white bikini bottom floated to the surface of the water and he felt her hand on his swim trucks did he finally have enough.

"Listen here, crazy girl!" Chef roared, jumping out of the hot tub in a spray of water. "I don't like you! I haven't liked you, and I never will like you! You are beyond crazy! Even beyond that creepy Izzy girl!" With a final scream of fright, Chef ran out of his private quarters as fast as his legs could carry him.

* * *

><p>Her thoughts were shaken from her when movement caught her eye. It wasn't in the water, no it was far above it. She focused her sharp eyes on the iconic 1,001 foot tall cliff that towered over the island, giving it the iconic look that everyone had come to know. Amongst the sparse trees that covered its slope, she could see a figure slowly walking up the mountain towards the very edge. She pumped her wings and steered herself in for a closer look, her eyes quickly picking up who it was; the oversized sweatshirt was unmistakable.<p>

She watched, curious, as Caroline walked to the very edge of the cliff and paused, watching a few stray pebbles tumble over the edge and into the surf below with almost microscopic splashes; Toni saw it all in high definition. And what happened next nearly threw her out of the sky.

Caroline jumped off the cliff.

With a loud screech, Toni tucked in her wings and shot off after the tumbling girl as she fell closer and closer to the water below. The tide was out, leaving the shore mostly barren with small pools scattered here and there. Mostly however, there very big, very hard rocks covering the shoreline beneath the cliff. Her mind racing, Toni quickly caught up with Caroline's falling form and saw every detail of the small girl with her sharp eyes. Everything from her long, wavy brown hair that rushed past her red face to her closed eyes. Her body was completely loose and limp, as if she had given up absolutely everything in life. And she most likely had.

But not if Toni had anything to say about it. Another loud screech escaped from her black beak and she stuck out her legs, sinking her talons into the soft material of Caroline's sweatshirt. She glanced down at the girl and noticed she hadn't moved at all. Ignoring Caroline, Toni opened her wings and nearly felt them torn out of their sockets from the amount of force being pushed down on her. She fruitlessly flapped her wings, struggling to slow Caroline's fall as the ground edged closer and closer. It was hopeless though; raptors were built to glide, not power. Now out of ideas, she opened her wings and turned them horizontal, allowing the wind and air to push up on them gain her a little altitude. She turned her body and Caroline towards the right, thanking her lucky stars there was strong wind that pushed her towards the forest. It wasn't enough to prevent injury, but with luck they would both live. The ground came closer and closer until it was only a few feet beneath her. Toni had no choice but to let go, and she released her hold on Caroline's sweatshirt, the snap back almost sending her into unconsciousness as her wings were nearly, very nearly, retched out of their sockets. She recovered and watched as Caroline tumbled to the ground, rolling for a couple yards before crashing into the trunk of a large tree, not even moving the entire time.

* * *

><p>"Who was the one that made an <em>incomplete<em> copy of _my _Animatrix!" Micheal shot back before suddenly crying out in agony as the feedback from the watches got even worse, intensifying tenfold. To him it felt like someone had taken every single of his nerves and yanked them out one at a time with a pair of rusty pliers, dipped them in a vat of acid, and then put them back into his body with a hammer in the hands of the Incredible Hulk. And, much to Kiko's horror, he began to change.

His back expanded outwards, becoming more muscled and fat as his arms quickly bulked up to over-sized proportions. A loud, sickening noise that sounded like tearing flesh came to her attention as a large octopus tentacle suddenly popped out of Micheal's body and began to thrash around widely. She watched horror as Micheal's right arm began to twist and convulse in directions it was never supposed to be as a red light engulfed the limp and a very annoyed cobra, attached to Micheal's shoulder, took its place, the limb reappearing beneath the angry reptile. He now had a pair of Nisilaha arms where his regular arms should have been, a long octopus tentacle poking out of his left shoulder, and a very alive cobra where his right shoulder should have been. A loud cracking sound filled the air as a Lagarbuini tail ripped out from the base of his spine, nothing more than white bone before flesh and muscle covered it, and Titanite blades tore through his wrists. A thick lion's mane suddenly sprouted around Micheal's no longer human neck and his feet tore his shoes to shreds, now a pair of powerful eagle talons. A sickening slapping sound met Kiko's as a pair of massive bat wings tore out of the flesh on Micheal's back, flapping widely as if they had a mind of their own; his jaw jutted outwards in a massive under bite as his human teeth became razor sharp angler fish fangs and a pair of elephant tusks slashed out from his cheeks. A pair of bloodied bull horns sprouted from his skull as his organs sloshed around in side of him and dozens of Golpgusanus spikes popped out at random intervals in his thick rhino hide.

And then it all stopped.

Micheal was now a ten foot tall freak of nature, an absolute abomination to everyone around him. And the worst part was that Kiko was absolutely fine; not a single hair on her pretty head had been harmed, her precious eyes still human and full of intellect. She still had ten digits to grasp with, ten toes to walk with, no tail or massive wings to hinder movement. She was completely normal, while he had been twisted beyond recognition.

"NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!" Micheal roared.

_**(theme song)**_

"Good evening, ladies and dudes!" Geoff howled to the audience's pleasure. "Have we got a show for you tonight! Wa-hoo!"

"Bridgette smiled and rolled her eyes at her hyperactive boyfriend; letting him drink an entire six pack of soda right before the show made his jolly attitude all the more happy, something both the present and viewing audience seem to love all the more. "That's right, Geoff! While things may started out slow for the poor victims subjected to Chris's humiliating tortures, it quickly heated up until it went super nova!"

"This show is so hot, I need to take a trip to Niagara Falls just to cool off!" Geoff exclaimed before a gallon of ice cold water suddenly rained down the ceiling onto him; Geoff yelped in surprise as his wet cowboy drooped over his face. He lifted the brim up and looked skywards to see Mortisha hanging from the catwalk above the stage, a wicked smile on her face and a suspicions bucket in her hands.

"And yes, the losers from this season are still here, folks!" Geoff managed to smile, despite having a bucket of frigid water dumped on him with the A/C turned up full blast to combat against the searing heat outside.

"As if anyone would ever want to see my face again." Eduardo frowned, sulking in the first row of the Peanut gallery.

"Well, they may not want to see _your _face, but I know they want to see these faces!" Geoff grinned, giving himself a shake and sending water from his blonde locks flying in a wet spray. "Give it up for DJ, Noah, and Leshawna, everyone!" Geoff announced, gesturing to the Brickhouse With Heart, The Schemer, and the Sister With 'Tude.

"Also joining us are our friends from Revenge of the Island Brick, Jo, and Stacy!" Bridgette grinned. "And from Pahkitew Island, we have Beardo, Topher, and Sky!'

None of the contestants seemed entirely pleased to be in the studio; DJ was looking around nervously, as if expecting a cougar to suddenly jump out and maul him for no apparent reason; Noah was ignoring everything around him, buried in his book and only stealing side glances at Eduardo when he was turning the pages; Leshawn was giving both of the skinny boys the stink eye, as if expecting them to somehow sabotage the show at some point; Brick and Jo were locked in an arm wrestling contest, sweat dripping down their faces as neither one seemed to be giving up at any moment; Stacy was currently blabbing away about her imaginary ancestors to Beardo as he made a gun with his fingers and pointed it at his head, a realistic gun-fire sound passing over his lips as he faked death; Sky was covering her ears as Topher glanced around in a suspicious manner, as if analyzing the layout of the stage to see if there was anyway he could somehow steal the show and work his way up in the world.

"Please welcome our next guest," Bridgette continued upon seeing Alex signal her from off stage. "She's a national kickboxing champion and was almost expelled from her old high school! Please welcome Tajira, everyone!" The audience politely clapped as Tajira stalked back out on stage, her expression of choice a firm frown that made Bridgette and DJ flinch upon seeing her as she took a seat across from the Peanut gallery.

"So, Tajira? How were things after you got booted off because of your temper?" Bridgette asked the angry girl.

"Fine." she growled, her expression never wavering in the slightest.

"Uh, okay?" Geoff seemed uncomfortable. "So, uh, do you think it was your temper that got you booted or something else?"

"My temper, duh." Tajira growled, narrowing her eyes at Geoff.

"What about Micheal?" Bridgette wondered. "From your first day on the island he tried to be nice to you, and instead you treat him as if he;s your worst enemy. Care to elaborate?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Tajira snarled, her eye twitching slightly.

"I do!" Mortisha cried with glee, swinging down from the ceiling. "Roll the clip, guys!"

"Hey, that's my line!" Geoff protested as the large TV screen overhead buzzed with static before springing to life and showing the desired film, Tajira's expression worsen with every passing minute.

* * *

><p>"Welcome to Pahkitew," he said, grabbing Tajira's hand and giving it a good shake. Faster than anyone could blink, Tajira heaved Micheal off the ground and slammed him on to his back, her face twisted into something of pure rage. "Don't touch me again." she snarled before prying his strong fingers off of her and walking a short distance away.<p>

* * *

><p>The audience murmured quietly upon seeing the clip, Tajira's left eye twitching ever so slightly as Mortisha grinned like a madwoman. With a loud yell, Tajira suddenly jumped off and chased after Mortisha, roaring and trying to catch the small girl in her clutches as Mortisha cackled madly. The two of them ran to one side of the stage before running back to the other, Mortisha then taking a small detour and diving through the Peanut gallery with Tajira still in hot pursuit. It wasn't until the chase somehow managed to find its way up onto the catwalks did Mortisha play her final move. She sat casually on the railing as Tajira snorted like a bull, breathing heavily from all the running before she screamed in rage and charged right at the creepy girl, tackling and pushing them both over the side. Unfortunately for Tajira, Mortisha had hooked her legs around the railing of the catwalk, securing herself tightly so that she merely swung upside down as Tajira plummeted to the stage below, landing with a loud <em>crash! <em>on the floor with a pained groan.

"You are pathetic, maggot!" Jo snarled from the Peanut gallery, twisting Brick's arm in a sudden surge of strength. "How could you let someone as weak as her beat you!?" she yelled, jamming a finger up at Mortisha as she sang 'Ring around the Rosie' from above.

"Sir, To be fair, Mortisha is insane, sir!" Brick saluted Jo, earning another twist of his hand from Jo.

"That's no excuse!" Jo shot back, twisting Brick's hand again.

A suddenly noise made Jo stop her assault and turn to find the source before her cold eyes finally landed on Tajira; the girl was curled up into a fetal position on the floor, her knees pulled up to her head as she sobbed uncontrollably, her sides heaving in and out as she cried.

"Suck it up, maggot!" Jo snapped; Tajira either ignored her or didn't hear as she continued to cry.

"Uh, hello?" Jo wondered, a tad less forceful this time as Leshawna and DJ glared at her.

"Ooh, and it like Jo has earned herself no new allies in this game!" Topher announced.

"Topher! We've been through this; stop trying to host the show, or you'll be tossed out by security!" Geoff frowned at The Chris Wannabe as he and Bridgette got off their couch and bent down to help Tajira climb to her feet, dragging her back over to the third couch and setting her down as she immediately wrapped her arms around the closest person near her and refused to let go: Geoff.

"A little help here, Bridge!?" Geoff choked as Tajira squeezed him tightly and turned his face blue, sobbing into his shoulder.

"Uh, Tajira? Care to tell us what you're going through?" Bridgette ventured.

Tajira sniffed and dried her tears on Geoff's shirt, the host restraining himself under Bridgette's glare. "I was bullied . . . a lot at my old school . . ." Tajira sniffed.

"But what does this have to do with Micheal?" Geoff gasped.

"Because," Tajira sniffed, recomposing herself and finally releasing her hold on Geoff. "That was how the bullying went; first the popular kids would act all friendly and everything, and then the next moment they would be humiliating me for their own laughs!"

"And Micheal just happened to look like one?" Bridgette asked.

"Yes," Tajira gulped. "Especially with that special watch of his."

"I know, that thing is awesome!" Geoff exclaimed, the audience clapping their approval.

"It's given him an advantage, I'll give him that." Sky admitted.

"Yah, my great-great grandmother Velma invented shape-shifting. Before her people could only wear animal skins to become animals," Stacy interrupted. "And before that, my great-great-great grandfather Clyde-"

That was as far as she got before Euardo suddenly screamed and tackled Stacy to the floor, heaving her entire weight above his head and running somewhere off stage, followed by a large assortment of sounds before Eduardo came back on stage.

"That was too torturous. Even for _me._" he merely stated, taking his seat back next to Noah.

"Amen." the Bookworm agreed.

"So, are you going to be okay?" Bridgette asked Tajira.

Tajira nodded and wiped her eyes. "Yeah. I think so."

"Good!" Geoff exclaimed with a big smile. "Because no offense, bu the producers think this kind of stuff is lame." he explained, Bridgette giving him a stern look. "I have nothing against it, but we really gotta show some pain and humiliation right now. So, without further ado, it's time for everyone's favorite segment, 'That's Gonna Leave a Mark'!"

* * *

><p>"<strong>BEEP!<strong>" Micheal swore as he somersaulted backwards and ducked down low to the ground as a large blast of corrosive liquid blasted out from Kiko's wrists, spraying in a near horizontal line as she aimed for Micheal's crests; he ducked low enough just in time for the wave of acid to pass overhead, eating right through the tall mountains that surrounded them and sending tons of rubble and debris tumbling down their slopes. With an enraged bellow, Kiko charged forward, determined to end him as she tackled him to the ground. Micheal, having more experience, quickly used her momentum to roll back just enough to kick her off of him and send her flying. But the giant didn't stop there; he quickly ran after her falling form, crushing trees under him like blades of grass and giant boulders like pebbles, did he push off from the ground and into the air, doing a quick flip and slamming his foot down as Kiko finally fell to her, his foot connecting with her face and driving it into the bowels of the island. But Micheal didn't stop there. He grabbed hold of Kiko's leg and hauled her entire weight into the air, swinging her around and around.

* * *

><p>"If you can't avoid his blast, you must help him find other players. If you find them, that means you are back in the game and Chef must close his eyes and count to ten." Chris explained as Chef, holding a massive water pistol, grumbled and folded his arms over his chest. "And with his military background and advanced degree in man-hunting, he is guaranteed to make this game excruciatingly <em>hard<em>." Chris added with a grin.

"Ooh, so we're gonna get sprayed by a little bit of water!" Kiko said sarcastically with a healthy dose of mockery in her voice.

"Yes, yes you will," Chris grinned maliciously. "Watch as he demonstrates."

Kiko smiled wickedly and covered her ears and eyes; she had seen the hide and seek episode, and was fully expecting Chef to blast Chris a good dozen yards away with his water pistol and avoid soaking her and Zelda altogether. Unfortunately for her, Chef had other ideas when he pulled the trigger on his water gun and blasted the unlucky girls with a tidal wave of water, sending them flying through the air and into the arms of a pine tree, which they fell down numerous branches and eventually were left dangling twenty feet above the forest floor a good twenty yards away from the cast.

* * *

><p>Alan was having the time of his life, rocking out on stage and wailing away on the electric guitar. Unfortunately for him, he had absolutely no idea how to play the electric guitar in the first place and the resulting sound was something similar to plugging a cat's tail into an open socket. The cast was in agony, covering their ears as the judges, with the exception of Ella, howled in misery.<p>

Finally, Tajira had had enough and ran off into the forest before returning with a large log in hand. With a grunt, she swung it around and lobbed it at Alan with fury in her eyes. The log missed Alan's head as he slid down on his knees before popping back up and 'walking' across the stage without letting up on the playing. Much to everyone's relief, he accidentally fell of the stage and landed roughly on the ground, the guitar whacking him in the head. As if to add insult to injury, the log came flying back out across the stage and landed painfully on Alan's back.

Chef whistled absentmindedly and scooted off into the wings, trying to look innocent.

* * *

><p>"Oh, that was brutal!" Geoff laughed.<p>

"On the bright side, it wasn't your fault." Bridgette reassured Tajira when she saw her start to tremb le slightly. Tajira sniffed and nodded thanks, pulling Bridgette into a tight hug before talking her seat back on the interview couch.

"Hey, Tajira? Do you think it's time to introduce our next guest?" Geoff asked.

"As long as it isn't that **BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! **Kiko!" Tajira swore, everyone's eyes widening upon hearing the words; DJ immediately started to tear up before bursting out into tears and running off stage with his hands tightly clapped over his ears.

"Make it stop! Make it stop!" he wailed as he charged right through the wall of the studio.

"Security!" Bridgette called. Chef came charging across the stage in hot pursuit of the runaway with DJ with Mortisha jumping onto his back and riding him like a horse with a crazed grin on her face. "And no, Tajira, it is not that . . . person . . ." Bridgette reassured her, trailing off a little and flinching slightly.

"Our next guest hates spiders, is afraid of the dark, and got expelled from very school she's ever gone to. Give it up for Monique everyone!" Geoff announced as Monique strolled out on stage with a sexy smile on her lips and a swing in her hips; she took her seat next to Tajira, ignoring the tempered girl altogether as the audience died down its applause.

"So Monique? Do you think you had a hand in your own elimination, or do you think it was just dumb luck you're here with us know and not back in the contest for a chance to win a million dollars?" Geoff asked.

"Wow, you don't sugarcoat things do ya?" Monique rolled her eyes, pulling out a nail file and working on her nails. "If you ask me, I was framed for somethin' I had every right to do!"

"Did that even make sense?" Sky whispered to Beardo; his response was to make a cuckoo-clock sound.

"So you're saying that it wasn't your fault you refused to help kill the gigantic spider until Maurananei threatened to rip your head off?" Bridgette wondered.

"Don't you dare say that **BEEP! **name when I'm around!" Monique snapped. "And I told her, if it's got more than four legs, I ain't going near it!"

"Which is why we're going to play a little game," Geoff grinned mischievously as a pair of interns walked on stage, pushing six shut crates with holes drilled into the side; the crates shook and rattled violently every few seconds, loud hisses and snarls bouncing off the wooden walls; Monique got a nervous look on her face.

"Each of these crates contains something inside of it," Geoff explained. "A few contain harmless rabbits, monkeys, and dogs while a couple hold _really _big tarantulas and scorpions. Only one of these crates however, holds a small cash prize of $100. Guess which crate has the prize in it, and you'll walk out of here $100 richer. Ready to play?"

"Do I have ta do this?" Monique asked nervously.

"Sadly, its in your contract," Bridgette shrugged. "Now lets play!"

Monique gulped and glanced at each box nervously, quickly skipping over one of the boxes that suddenly bellowed and rattled, as if some large animal were trying to break out and eat her face off. She scanned over the next few boxes that didn't move in the slightest before a wet, brown glop came flying out one of the holes and hit her in the face.

"Ah! I've been hit!" Monique screamed, running around and trying to wipe the mysterious substance off of her face before she suddenly collided with the stack of crates and knocked them all open. A large horde of enormous tarantulas, spiders, and scorpions skittered out of the boxes, immediately crawling all over Monique as she screamed even louder and ran off stage, a single monkey chasing after her with more brown stuff clutched tightly in its fist.

"I could have sworn only two of the boxes had spiders!" Bridgette protested as Monique came screaming back across the stage, trying desperately to swipe the spiders and excess brown substance off of her as monkey began to pound her with its fists.

"Yeah, I'm the one that filled the rest with spiders!" Topher said proudly. "Who's the better host now!?" he posed for the camera as Monique made another lap across the stage.

"What about the monkey?" Geoff wondered.

"Couldn't get it out of the crate without ruining my gorgeous good looks," Topher flashed a smile at the camera without even looking at the two hosts. "But it still worked out better than I imagined!"

Bridgette frowned and reached into her cleavage, pulling out a small golden whistle that she held delicately in her fingertips. Geoff gave her odd look but covered his ears nonetheless when Bridgette put the whistle to her lips and blew as much air as possible into it; no sound came out.

"Uh, I think you got a dud, Bridge," Geoff noted. "Where'd you even get that?"

"It's not a dud, Geoff," Bridgette smiled. "And I got it from a friend."

Geoff didn't get a chance to ask what she meant when the ceiling of the studio suddenly exploded, spotlights, remains of the catwalks, and metal panels raining down onto the stage as a massive creature came soaring down through the hole in the roof. The beast a mash up of different animals, with the feet of an eagle, the jaws of an angler fish, the tusks, of an elephant, the wings of a bat, the horns of a bull, a long octopus tentacle and large cobra for shoulders, a pair of Nisilaha arms tipped with grizzly bear claws and Titanite blades, rhino hide, and a Lagarbuini tail.

The audience screamed as the horrifying monstrosity latched its talons onto Topher's shoulders and lifted him off through the hole in the roof with a loud bellow, Topher screaming all the way about how the beast was getting drool in his precious hair.

"We've gotta install a skylight or something," Geoff noted. "And is that who I think it was?"

Bridgette grinned. "It's good to have friends in high places. Or in Micheal's case, low places."

"Gotta agree with you on that one, Bridge. He totally got the butt-end of that ordeal he went through." Geoff frowned. "Which reminds me! It's time to introduce our next guest!"

"She was Chris Uberfan and not only kissed Micheal, but forced another player to make a copy of his precious Animatrix and mutant him into the monstrosity he is now! Give it up for Kiko, everyone!" Bridgette announced; everyone immediately started to boo and hiss loudly as Alex wheeled Kiko out on stage, a furious look on her face as she tried to struggle out of her many casts and bandages.

"How are you feeling, Kiko?" Bridgette asked with as much concern as possible. Which was not very much.

Kiko gave a muffled scream as she continued to thrash about in her wheel chair.

"Uh, loosely translated, I think she said 'No, I'm not fine'," Alex told the two hosts. "Among several very naughty words that no one teenager should ever know. But then again, I'm just guessing."

"I don't think it's too far fetched, dude." Geoof shook his head. "So, Kiko? Do you agree that what you did was absolutely insane and that you the most sadistic competitor Total Drama has ever seen?"

Kiko promptly shook her head before suddenly jolting and trying to pounce on Geoff, attempting to try and snap her jaws and bite his head off. Alex quickly pulled a needle fo his pocket and stuck in Kiko's exposed arm, injecting with some kind of fluid that made her drop limp within seconds.

"She's still got some of that Bio-Feedback stuff Micheal was talking about," Alex told the hosts. "She may look normal, but she's not totally normal."

"So, what? She'll turn into a werewolf or something?" Leshawna wondered.

"I hope to Notch that she won't," Alex told her. "I'm stuck taking care of her until she's well enough to see a psychiatrist and a nut house."

"You sure you ain't talking about Izzy?" Tajira asked.

"I wish," Alex scoffed. "Even _she's _more sane than Kiko right now." he said before the large TV screen overhead suddenly blinked to life. A live-feed clip of the insane red head blinked to life, with said red head currently driving a flaming pickup truck with a herd of goats in the back and a monkey in the passenger seat with a pair of sunglasses on its head and loud action music playing over the radio.

"Okay, maybe not _that _sane." Alex surrendered.

"That's all we have time for, folks!" Bridgette announced, slipping her whistle back between her cleavage and out of sight. "Tune in for mayhem, more death-defying challenges, and more Total! Drama! Pahkitew's Vengeance!"

**And there's the second Aftermath!**

**Sorry if this didn't meet up to the absolute insanity of the last Aftermath, but not every one of them can result in the studio getting trashed (much)!**

**As always, comment review, suggest, and request down below!**

Hasta Luego!


	13. Total Drama Fortress 2

**Hello there! I'm back with yet another chapter of TDPV!**

**Can anyone tell me why it seems like an eternity since I last worked on this? Meh, probably not. Anyways, I'm _so _sorry this took so long to right. Life, as usual, kept on getting in the way until I finally managed to defeat with a sucker punch to the kiwis.**

**Oh, well!**

**As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!**

**Onwards!**

"Last time on Total Drama: Pahkitew's Vengeance: In a homage to our Season 1 hide and seek challenge, I handcuffed every single one of our super powered freaks together and sent them packing with my good friend Chef Hatchet hunting every last one of them down!" Chris chuckled before his expression turned serious. "But then, through a series of events I _never _saw coming, Kiko sent cuckoo-crazy-bonkers with power when she realized that she no longer needed Zelda to cheat for her! Long story short, it was a battle of the watches as Micheal and Kiko battled it out an amazing showcase of forms! In the end, Micheal ended up being mutated into a bigger freak than before and Kiko got the boot after BURNING MY ISLAND!" Chris screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Will Micheal ever return to normal? How long will Toni and Paul's relationship last? Can Zelda ever earn the trust of her friends ever again? And can my teeth possibly get any whiter?" Chris grinned, flashing his trademark smile to the camera. "Find out now on Total! Drama! Pahkitew's Vengeance!"

_**(theme song plays)**_

The air was hot and thick with the smell of sweat and desperation. But mostly, it was filled with blood.

Toni always assumed that rescuing her mother from the authorities of Nigeria would not be as easy as a walk in the park, but she never imagined it would be this bloody. She thought that she could simply walk in with her friends at her side and intimidate the heck out of them into releasing her mother, but no, they didn't seem to want to give her up.

"Look out!"

Toni yelped as Paul slammed into her and pushed to the ground as gunfire rattled overhead. There came a flash of blood red light and a loud roar of fury as Micheal activated the Animatrix and was morphed into a large _Tyrannosaurus Rex _as he quickly charged in front of Paul and Toni provided them with cover as they scrambled to their feet and scurried out of the way. The dinosaur bellowed once more and charged at the troops of the military base, most of the bullets bouncing harmlessly off of his skin; several tanks fired off their rounds in the hopes of using the dinosaur's size against him, but Micheal had had much practice dodging projectiles and was engulfed in a flash of bright red like, morphing into a jackrabbit and skillfully bouncing left and right to avoid the shells as they exploded.

"C'mon! We can't let him have all the fun!" Paul cried over the roar of the battle as his image shimmered and vanished into thin air. Toni clapped her hands over her ears as a large explosion rocked the earth and she peeked open her eyes just in time to see Anuok launch herself into the fray with her daggers in her fingers, a deep smirk on her face. She watched as a soldier suddenly went down as if he had been attacked from behind, followed by a second one and a third; soon, almost a dozen soldiers had been taken out by the invisible force that was Paul.

Toni sucked in a deep breath and focused on an image in her head; the changes soon began. Deep, orange fur sprouted all over her body, covering every inch of her as her clothes started to vanish into thin air. Darker patterns etched themselves over the fur, becoming long stripes of varying lengths and thickness as a long, striped tail sprouted from the base of her spine. Muscles piled themselves over her back and legs, her toe nails ripping through her shoes as they became wicked claws. Her arms shifted into front legs, her fingers shortening into pads as razor sharp claws grew from her fingernails. Her skull ground and crushed as teeth ripped themselves through her gums, barely even fitting into her mouth until her head caught up with the rest of her. Her shoulders became massively muscled as her lavender eyes turned a solid gold with a deadly, black slit for an iris, whiskers sprouting all over the front of her face, completing the transformation.

With a savage roar, the Bengal tiger bounded into the battle, teeth bared and claws outstretched as a large rhino came charging out from an explosion and smashed into a military car, sending the drivers flying as the large animal rammed its horn into the vehicle a second time. The big cat didn't pay the large animal any mind as it pounced into a military charge and immediately attacked the driver, sinking her faces into the back of his neck and raking his skin with her claws. The man screamed as the tiger released her grip on him and threw the man out of the truck before attacking the passenger and pushing him out of the vehicle.

The car suddenly rocked as the car door opened and an invisible force climbed into the driver's seat before closing the door behind it; the air shimmered and wavered for a few seconds before Paul reappeared, a wicked smile on his face. "I've always wanted to drive one of these." he grinned as a large gorilla with a red collar around its neck and Anuok climbed into the front after Toni jumped into the back with Micheal. Anuok scribbled something on her notepad and handed it to Paul to read.

"Put the pedal to the medal?" Paul read with a smile. "It would be my pleasure!" he laughed as he stomped down on the gas, the tires squealing as the car shot off across the landscape and away from the military base located in the desert, leaving a cloud of dust in their wake.

"Aw, yeah! I got a tiger and gorilla in the back seat and a hot chick in the front! Best day ever!" Paul cheered until he heard a low growl. "Of course, she's not as hot as you, babe." he quickly covered himself.

Micheal suddenly screeched as he hauled himself out of the window of the car and onto the roof, howling angrily as gunfire could just barely be heard over the roar of helicopters. Paul glanced in the rear view mirror of the car to see almost a dozen more vehicles chasing after them with about three choppers in the air and firing their guns at them. "Aw, crap." he grumbled under his breath as he twisted the wheel and made a sharp U-turn back at the military trucks, catching them off by surprise as Paul sped back past them and back at the military base, buying them time until the small force was able to turn itself around.

"Anuok, where're they keeping Toni's mom!?" Paul yelled over the roar of the helicopters.

Anuok quickly scribbled something on her notepad and handed it to Paul just as Micheal ripped the rear right car door off of its hinges and chucked it at an approaching copter, shielding his eyes as it exploded in a fire ball and the passengers jumped out. The gorilla roared angrily and pounded his chest, reaching back inside the car and tore the car seat out with ease before lobbing it at the military vehicles on the ground, stalling them longer enough for Paul to gain a couple more yards.

"What!? Whaddya mean they aren't even keeping her in the base!?" Paul yelled with fury as he made another U-turn and sped right back at the small army of vehicles, shooting past them as Micheal ripped off the other back car door and chucked it at the lead car, smirking when it exploded and made the desert all the brighter.

Anuok shrugged as Micheal hauled himself back inside the car just as the Animatrix timed out and returned him back to his human form. "We seriously just wasted three hours of sneaking about to get into a base that doesn't even hold what we're looking for?" he glared at Paul.

"Hey, I just found out now!" Paul protested. "And at least I'm not the one that blew our cover!"

"How was I supposed to know the Animatrix would turn me freaking fish with legs!?" Micheal roared. "How am I supposed to know what's out there in the galaxy!?"

"What I wanna know is how a species that's just a little fish with little legs actually survives long enough for it to become sentient." Paul grumbled as the sand around them was pelted with bullets, the roof becoming riddled with dents and bumps where the projectiles had impacted. "AH! I've been hit!" Paul cried as a bullet grazed his shoulder, the car swerving left and right as Paul went bonkers until Micheal pushed him aside and grabbed hold of the wheel, righting themselves once more just before they would have crashed into a pile of rocks.

"Geez, dude! Concentrate on driving!" Micheal cried, sparing enough to throw a look at Paul. Unfortunately, the moment was long enough for the car to suddenly swerve to the left and go sailing over the edge of a large canyon!

"Can I just say that we all suck?" Paul sighed as the car plummeted to the bottom of the canyon, the two teens screaming their heads off as Toni yowled in terror; Anuok, as usual, was absolutely silent, even in mortal terror.

"Attention freshmeat! Your sleeping in is getting in the way of precious time that could be spent with you getting hurt!"

Toni gasped and jolted up in bad, hitting the bottom of the top bunk painfully as Chris went on with his annoying, early morning announcement. Grumbling under her breath, Toni yawned and climbed out of bed shuffling her way out onto the deck of their barely intact tree house; the surrounding was not a pretty sight with smoldering, blackened trees as far as the eye could see with black ash for soil as crows and vultures soared over the dissipating thermals.

"Morning, Beautiful!" Paul yawned as he shuffled out onto the deck next to her, rubbing his eyes; due to the fact that there wasn't anyway to determine a winner last time, Chris had forced the contestants to all sleep in the smoking remains of the Rampaging Rhino's tree house instead of spending the night in the Hangout of Awesomeness, despite the fact that it was more structurally sound than the tree house. "Sleep well last night?" Paul asked his girlfriend.

Toni shrugged as she leaned on the railing. "I had the dream again last night." she said.

"Which one?" Paul wondered.

"The one where we rescue my mom and end up driving off a cliff."

"I don't remember that." Paul cocked an eyebrow.

"That's because it didn't happen," Toni sighed. "For some reason, my mind keeps twisting itself to believe that my mom was kept in a shack in the middle of the desert with an IV jammed into her arm instead of locked away in the bowels of a military base."

"Maybe your mind is sort of censoring what it doesn't like," Paul offered. "By the way, did Micheal still get turned into that little fish dude?"

"I was getting to that before Ol' Manure Face interrupted." Toni grumbled, rolling her eyes. Before Paul could offer some more insults towards Chris, there came a pair of startled shrieks from inside the tree house, one of them belonging to a male and the other belonging to a female; mere seconds later, Alan came flying out of the tree house and over the side, landing painfully on the ground below.

"Stay outta my bed if you know what's good for ya!" Maurananei yelled over the railing, shaking a clenched fist.

__**Confessional**__

"So just when I think Alan might actually become a gentleman and stop his perverted ways, I wake up to see him in my bunk with his face in my cleavage!" Maurananei roared. "I swear, if he tries that one more time I'll crush him like a grape!"

__**Change Confessional**__

"I don't know what happened!" Alan squeaked. "One moment, I'm sound asleep in my own bed, and the next I'm cuddled up next to Maurananei!"

"Like a grape!" Maurananei interrupted from outside the rotting outhouse.

"And what's worse, everyone now thinks that I'm a pervert again! And just when I was starting to get over that stuff and make some friends too!" Alan whimpered.

"_GRAPE!_" Maurananei roared.

"Mom, if you're listening, I leave all my card collections to you! They're worth some serious dough!" Alan cried.

__**Change Confessional**__

"Oh, dear," Serphonus grinned darkly with a sarcastic tone. "How ever did Alan get himself in such sticky situation?" he tut-tutted, all while grinning wickedly. "And while I'm free to play around with these poor saps, no one even knows who I am. It's almost too easy." smiled darkly.

__**End Confessional**__

"Welcome, campers, to today's challenge!" Chris grinned.

None of the campers looked particularly happy to see the sadistic host so early in the morning, especially Maurananei; it took the combined forces of Mitchell, Paul, and Toni to keep her from strangling the host and then using him to beat Alan senseless. Chris watched the whole thing with amusement, loving how he could create such drama simply by standing about and doing almost nothing.

A large shadow passed overhead as Micheal descended to the ground, flapping his large bat wings to slow his fall as the snake attached to shoulder reared up and looked around, stopping on Chris as the octopus tentacle and Nisilaha arms flexed, as if imagining Chris's skull between their suckers and fingers. "Well, if it isn't Mr. Freakshow himself." Chris grinned. "Considered joining the circus once the show is over?" Micheal's response was to let a guttural growl escape his cage of teeth as he smashed a fist into the pine tree next to him, reducing it to a smoldering pile of circuitry and splinters.

"He's says that his next target is you." Caroline translated fearfully, cowering behind Maurananei.

Chris gulped nervously and took a step back, deciding now was probably no the best time to be subjected to horrific forms of mutilation. "Anyways, since Kiko burned the whole island, today's challenge will take place in the virtual world while we get things cleaned up around here!" he announced. "That's right! We're using the Virtual Reality machine again, and we're playing Club Citadel 2!"

"Don't you mean Team For-" Alan wondered.

"We didn't get the rights, okay?" Chris frowned. "And as of today, there will be no more teams!"

"WHAT!?" the contestants all cried.

"That's right!" Chris grinned maliciously. "After today's challenge, it's ever camper for themselves! But before we let anarchy rule, you will all be combined together into one team to play in today's challenge! Your opponents will be a collection of veteran competitors from the previous seasons, but you'll have to see which one's you're up against." Chris smiled darkly. "The option of the game to collect the other team's brief case and make it back to your own base before either time runs out or the other team manages to steal your booty._"_

"Really?" Toni rolled her eyes.

"Yep! And to make things interesting, you each have one life, so be careful! And friendly fire counts!" he added upon seeing Anuok raise her hand. "Your skill sets and classes have already been selected, so all you need to do is get in there and try not to die! If your team manages to grab the brief case or kill all the other competitors, everyone is safe and no one will go home tonight. If you fail however, one sorry loser will be sent home in the Torpedo of Shame!"

"You are sick, you know that?" Zelda coughed, sporting her previous injuries from the last challenge and leaning heavily on a crutch.

"Been called worse," Chris shrugged. "Now go! I wanna see every last one of your butts in the game in less than five minutes!"

* * *

><p>The map was rather small and yet spacious to say the least. The air felt hot and thick against the contestant's skin as they spawned in, decked out in their respective gear. Surrounded on all sides by a tall chain link fence topped with barbed wire, two matching fortresses faced each other on opposite sides of a a deep canal with rank, green water filling up the bottom as a covered bridge gave the only access between the two buildings. Each building had a central tower with what could have been a clock tower at one point had the wood not been rotting and the structure not gratified by bright colors of "GRN RULES, YLW DROOLS!", among other things and more crude messages; ancient barn-like buildings surrounded the central clock tower, giving the contestant's dozens upon hundreds of places to hide and attack from. <strong>[1]<strong>

"Interesting." Zelda mused as she moved her now fully functional limbs as if they had never been broken; she wore a pair of safety goggles over her eyes and a lose, yellow hardhat on her head. Her right hand was covered by a thick, rubber glove, of which a large monkey wrench resided between her fingers. She wore dark overalls and thick, rubber boots over a forest green shirt with the symbol of a wrench on her shoulder.

"What happened to us?" Caroline wondered as she looked over herself and Anuok. Both girls wore a simple dark pants and green shirt combo with a winged foot on their on their shoulders and dog tags around their necks. Bandages wrapped around their hands and spiked cleats sat on their feet with a baseball cap and headphone/mic combo; clipped to their belt was a small, two barrel gun.

Anuok shrugged, but pointed at Toni and Trey, the two of them wearing identical outfits just like Caroline and Anuok were; each of them had a lose, WWII helmet that covered their eyes with a heavy, green jacket over their dark pants and heavy boots with a flaming rocket on their shoulders. Strapped across their chests were a pair of grenades, and a heavy rocket launcher was carried across each of their backs.

"Mmphf mthph! Mhpghf!" Mitchell mumbled as he stumbled around in a full, flame retardant suit with thick rubber gloves on his hands and heavy, rubber boots on his feet. Strapped across his chest were three canisters of something that Caroline highly suspected she didn't want to know; a gas mask sat on Mitchell's head, obscuring any sight of him as he swung an ax around in his hand and shifted his seemingly crudely made flamethrower on his back; his overall look made several of the contestant's flinch with fear when they noticed the inferno symbol on his shoulder.

"Can't understand a word you're saying, Mitch!" Paul chuckled; he wore a green tinted pinstripe suit and tie on his body that made his shoulders tight and angular with a balaclava over his head that covered nearly every detail of him, leaving only holes for his mouth and piercing eyes; he twirled a Magnum revolver around in his fingers while smoking a cigarette that gave him an air of mystery.

"Gentlemen." he nodded to Alan and Wilson; the first wore a snow white lab coat with a red cross on each shoulder and a pair of dark pants over heavy, rubber boots. Thick, green rubber gloves sat on his hands and he had a pair of thin glasses on his face. Strapped to his back was a strange device hooked up to a sort of the gun that made most of the team curious about what he could do. The later of the two had a bomb symbol on his green shirt that could just barely be seen under his bulky bulletproof vest that had half a dozen bombs strapped to the front. A black skullcap sat on his head and an eyepatch was over his right eye, drawing odd looks from the others, especially when they found that he had a whiskey in his hand for what seemed a weapon.

"Oi! Who's the crazed kookaburra that gave me jars of this **BEEP!**" Maurananei complained in a loud, Australian accent; she wore large, mirrored sunglasses over her cold eyes and an Australian Slouch hat on her head with a vest and green colored shirt over her chest and a scope symbol on her left shoulder. Also over her left shoulder was a large and very impressive sniper riffle with a large and heavy kukri clipped to her belt.

"Who cares? I am human again!" Micheal cheered loudly as he towered over all of the other contestants in his thick, Russian accent. "I am Heavy Weapons Guy!" he whooped with joy as he danced around a little, drawing looks of amusement from the others. He wore heavy combat boots on his feet, a green shirt with a row of bullets on the left shoulder, and an armored vest with two bandolier of shells for his weapon; and what a weapon it was. It a massive minigun with a gigantic barrel and tank to the bottom with two handle on the top and back to hold it.

"Impressive weapon, Micheal." Paul noted as he tentatively touched the large weapon.

"Nobody touches Sasha!" Micheal roared, scooping up the weapon and holding it close like a child that didn't want to have his favorite toy taken away. **[2]**

"Sasha?" Alan cocked an eyebrow.

"I don't think we don't wanna know, mate." Maurananei shook her head as she tilted the brim of her hat down.

"Attention, fresh and old meat!" Chris's cold and frightful voice came over a series of loudspeakers hooked up all around the complex. "The match will begin in thirty seconds, so use this time to strategize! Or don't, and beat the crap out of each other. Either way works for me." he chuckled darkly.

"So, how do we actually play this game?" Trey asked.

"We have to defend our brief case from the other team," Alan explained. "At the same time, we have to steal their own briefcase before either time runs out, or they succeed in robbing us."

"So, what's up with weird costumes?" Paul asked, poking Mitchell with his gun and consequently have a flamethrower leveled at his face.

"Each of us is playing as a different class," Alan replied. "Micheal is the Heavy, so it's his job to act as a tank and absorb damage while simultaneously mowing down the other team; Maurananei is a Sniper, so she'll be acting as support and taking out anyone that gets too close to the briefcase for comfort; Zelda is the Engineer, and she can set up sentries to either defend the briefcase or hinder the enemy's movements."

"Cool!" Zelda smiled as she pulled out a heavy toolbox. "How do I set up a sentry?"

"You hit it with your wrench. Repeatedly." Alan told her.

"Seriously?"

"Serious." Alan nodded before continuing. "Paul is playing as Spy, so he'll be able to disguise himself as the enemy and eliminate them from the inside out but either stabbing them in the back or sapping the Engineer's sentries; Mitchell is the Pyro and his duty will be to basically hassle and surprise the other team; Caroline and Anuok are the Scout's, allowing them to outrun anyone else in the game, so they'll be most effective in either stealing the briefcase or driving the enemy nuts."

Anuok grinned at this while Caroline nervously played with her hair. "And Toni and Trey are acting as the Soldiers, which are basically a jack-of-all-trades kind of class. Oh, and they might be a bit crazy." Alan added.

"In my experience, cadet, crazy is what wiped out those **BEEP! **Nazis!" Trey swore.

"Thirty seconds are up!" Chris's voice rang through the air. "Start hurting each other!"

"Wait! What about our powers?" Toni asked, but her question was drowned out by the loud honk from Chris's air horn over the loudspeaker and the slapping of her teammate's boots against the wooden floor of the base. Toni grumbled something under her breath as she shouldered her rocket launcher and jogged after Trey, her helmet concurring some of her vision as the two soldiers stormed out of the base and made their way to the covered bridge; the others had opted to hang back and see how things turned out.

"Trey, I can't see anything! Is there anyone ahead of us?" Toni asked.

"What's the name of the guy who won the first season? Ya know, the human fart machine?" Trey wondered.

"You mean Owen?"

"Yeah, him. He's right ahead of us," Trey gulped. "And he's dressed just like Micheal."

"That's bad, right?"

"According to Alan, extremely." Trey said nervously.

"Sorry, dudes! But Chris wants me to mow ya down!" the rotund giant smiled happily, as if he didn't have a care in the world; Owen was dressed in a deep yellow shirt with a heavy, bulletproof vest over his massive girth and two rows of bullets strapped over his chest. "Nothing personal, but he promised me all the pizza I could eat for the next three weeks!"

"Dude, that is one awesome deal." Trey admitted. "But I'm afraid I can't let you do that."

"Ditto, dude. AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Owen cried as he pulled the trigger on his minigun, his swollen arms jiggling like jello and his massive belly rippling like water as the weapon fired off in nearly random directions, peppering the bridge with holes and riddling the ground with bullets as Toni and Trey charged at the giant, lowering their heads and ramming their helmets into Owen's body fat; the gleeful giant was pushed onto his back where he stayed down with a groan.

"They got Owen!" a deeper, more masculine voice cried within the safety of the enemy's fort. "Fill 'em fulla holes!"

"A-a-are you sure t-that's a good idea?" a female's voice squeaked nervously.

"Shut it, Samey! Either your with us, or without us, and I am not about to have any more maggots on my team!" a more angry girl's voice yelled.

"Hey! Stop yellin' at _Sammy_ and start attackin' the enemy before I rip you a new one!" a thick, Australian accent barked.

"Fine, whatever you say, Australiana Jones." the previous voice grumbled sarcastically. "CHARGE!"

"I think we should beat a hasty retreat, don't you?" Trey gulped.

"Agreed." Toni nodded before the two soldiers dashed back inside their base just as several dozen bullets, rockets, and bombs exploded on the spot they had been standing in moments before. The two of them quickly ran inside their base and slammed themselves against the wall behind them, breathing heavily as bullets riddled the wall ahead of them.

"Man, they are mean!" Toni breathed.

"And here they come!" Maurananei shouted from her perch point above them; the team glanced skywards to see the Sniper standing on top of the roof of the main entrance, her grip tight around her riffle as she grimaced. The sound of pounding feet met their ears and they turned around to see a hulking mass of flesh with a muscle bound jock and a small, feminine gymnast running their way. "Cowabunga!" Owen cried with glee as he pulled the trigger on his minigun and sent a spray of bullets into the GRN Team's base; the lovable oaf was dressed in an incredible large, yellow T-shirt with a heavy bulletproof vest that easily dwarfed Caroline in size as two straps of bullets lay over his rotund gut. Behind Owen was none other than Lightning and Sky, both of them decked out in matching, yellow T-shirts with running cleats and baseball caps with headphones around them.

"Defensive positions! NOW!" Alan howled as Maurananei gritted her teeth and switched out her long-range sniper rifle for a small Submachine gun, yanking back on the trigger and firing off dozens of bullets as she cackled madly, her brow furrowing when the bullets did little more than bounce off of Owen's massive girth; the others didn't waste any time in disobeying Alan's orders and quickly scrambled to defend themselves. Alan pulled Micheal aside at the last second.

"Maurananei's keeping them busy outside," he told the Heavy. "If we can just get an Ubercharge, we might be able to take down Owen before he can inflict serious damage on us."

"What about Lightning and Sky?" Micheal wondered as Lightning's loud cry of ""Sha-BAM!" echoed throughout the map as he fired off his gun and managed to strike Maurananei twice in the leg.

"They'll most likely try to make a run for the briefcase," Alan told him as he shouldered his odd looking weapon. "The others can handle them. As of now though, our biggest problem is Owen, and not just because of his gut."

"Right," Micheal sighed as he shifted Sasha into his meaty palms and tightened his grip. "Lets get this over with." Alan nodded and glanced back at the tank on his back, relieved he had collected enough energy when the others weren't paying attention; the Medic then thrust the handle on his Medi-gun forward, his eyes brightening with a happy and mad look as the energy made its way into Micheal's body, turning him a bright, deadly red with electricity that arched over his skin as his body began to change. His large figure suddenly swelled as hundreds of muscles piled on top of each other, sending his growing form upwards until he was more than twice as tall as his previous self. His fingers pulsed as thick veins appeared on his arms, sending bizarre, new blood through them. A second pair of eyes appeared above his own and every hair on his head disappeared. A short beard appeared on his chin that ran up to his disappearing earlobes as his jaw jutted out. Suddenly, a second pair of smaller arms burst out from under his own, still just fresh muscle and bone. Alan felt like she was going to be sick until rough, red, skin covered them. Ben's toes melded into two large claws as a row of small spikes appeared on his head and shoulders. A black undershirt with a green stripe down the middle as a pair of black pants appeared as two pairs of black fingerless gloves came out of nowhere on his large hands, finishing the transformation.

"What the- does this normally happen?" Micheal asked Alan as he opened and closed all four of his hands and blinked all four of his eyes.

"Uh, not really." Alan blinked. "Normally the Heavy becomes invincible for a few precious seconds, not turn into some four-armed freak of nature."

"I'll have you know that the Nisilaha are a very respected species in the galactic community!" Micheal snapped. "And any one of them, even a mere child, could tear out your spine and floss with it before crushing your skull like an egg with ease."

"Please, I think I just wet myself." Alan whimpered uncomfortably.

"Good," Micheal huffed before he shouldered his minigun and grinned wickedly. "Now lets light 'em up!" he cried as he charged out of the base with Alan hot on his heels, firing his minigun with deadly precision as he yelled a war cry at the top of his lungs. Owen screamed with fear as the massive, four-armed alien came charging out of the base at him, the rotund giant throwing his arms up into the air as he dropped his still active gun and ran away with Micheal firing at his back.

"Yow! Watch where you're shootin' that thing, Tubby!" Lightning cried as a bullet grazed his knee.

"Knock it off with the insults, Lightning! We've got a briefcase to get!" Sky yelled as she flipped over several flying bullets before launching herself at Micheal's head and bouncing off his skull and into the bowels of the base, just barely dodging shots from Maurananei; Lightning grumbled obscenities under his breath, dashing inside the base as he took several potshots at Maurananei's head and successfully made it inside the base without trouble. The two scouts ran down the hallway in front of them, hanging a sharp right that opened up into an empty yard filled with stacks of lumber and twisted scraps of metal bars.

"We got this in the sha-bag!" Lightning cheered loudly as he charged right out into the junkyard just before his entire, muscled figure was consumed in a wall of flame.

"AAAAAAA-HHHHHHH!" Lightning screamed in agony as his entire body disintegrated into fine, pile of ash; Mitchell stepped out from around the corner, cheering loudly from under his gas mask and pumping his flamethrower up and down over his head with triumph as Sky cautiously took several steps back before bursting out into a full out run in the opposite direction.

"Attention! Lightning the Scout has just been barbecued by Mitchell the Pyro!" Chris's loud and obnoxious voice rang out over the loudspeaker. "That leaves the YLW Team with only ten players left!"

"Mmmph! Mmpfph!" Mitchell cheered victoriously.

Sky felt her pulse racing as she jogged down the hall, her fingers gripped tightly around her pistol as her eyes darted fearfully in all directions, jumping at the slightest creaks and groans of the wooden walls and ceilings around her; if one were in her shoes, having just seen her partner burnt to a crisp before her very eyes, they would have also been just as jumpy. The gymnast darted around the next corner, her breath catching in her throat when she felt a stabbing motion in her shoulder; she whirled around to see nothing but thin air as she held her bleeding shoulder, the blood seeping between her fingers just as she felt another stabbing pain in her other shoulder. Once again, there was no one there.

"Show yourself!" Sky shouted nervously.

"If you insist." a cocky voice with a heavy, French accent snarked; the air in front of Sky wavered for a split second before Paul appeared right out of thin air, a deep smirk on his face as he twirled a butterfly knife around in his fingers. "Madame." he wiggled his eyebrows.

"What-how did you . . ." Sky fumbled over her words before Paul whipped out his pistol and pulled the trigger, blasting a bullet directly into Sky's chest and sending a spray of blood over the wall and ground as the gymnast dropped to the floor, dead.

"Gentlemen." Paul smirked before his image started to change; his short, brown hair lengthened and darkened into thick, black locks that reached just to the base of her neck as his eyes darkened into black orbs as pitch black as raven feathers. His board shoulders slithered away into a more frail form as his figure became more feminine in a quick, slurping motion as his thick, calloused fingers became thin and delicate. His green pinstripe suit suddenly morphed into a yellow T-shirt and brown cargo shorts as heavy cleats took the place of his fancy shoes.

"All too easy." the Sky lookalike smirked as he stole Sky's pistol and ran out of the base at top speed, making his way over to the enemy base.

* * *

><p>Trey sucked in a deep breath and quietly shouldered his rocket launcher as he crept around the corner of the enemy's base, making sure there was no one around before he took the chance and ran out into the open before diving behind a pile of wood. So far, the soldier had seen little sign of the other team, the only evidence that they were even currently in the map being Owen's wails as Micheal and Alan chased after him, the constant gunfire being shot back and forth across the canal, and the loud, beeping sound of a nearby sentry; Trey knew he was slower than one of the Scouts, making the idea of stealing the brief case not very bright idea. This left him with the job of distraction and elimination while one of the Scouts hopefully took the opportunity to make a dash for the brief case.<p>

The soldier sucked in a breath and reached into the satchel at his side, digging around inside to pull out a megaphone that he quickly tapped to make sure was on. Trey then sucked in a deeper breath as he put the megaphone to his lips before he screamed as loud as possible into the device as his amplified screams of death echoed across the entire map, the crossfire from both sides ceasing for a moment before continuing.

"Hope that worked." Trey mumbled under his breath before the ground in front of him sudden exploded into a small dust cloud, forcing Trey to fall flat on his butt.

"God save the Queen!"

Trey looked around widely for the source of the voice just as another bullet grazed past his helmet before embedding itself into a wooden pile behind him. The soldier whipped his head around to find the source of the bullet to see Jasmine ducking under the frame of the door above him that led further into the bowels of the base; the Aussie girl was dressed in a gold T-shirt with an Australian slouch hat on her head, a sniper rifle clutched tightly in her hands and a pair of dingy sunglasses on her face, an annoyed frown on her face as she fired the weapon again and managed to graze Trey's arm.

"Maggot!" Trey spat as he quickly brought the megaphone up to his face and blasted another ultrasonic scream at Jasmine, knocking her off of her feet as Trey quickly scrambled back up onto his feet and shouldered his rocket launcher, firing off a rocket before rushing back out of the scrap yard a the rocket exploded, hopefully taking Jasmine out with it.

"Eat it, Maggot!" he hollered over his shoulder, just in time to be clotheslined by Duncan; the delinquent had a black skull cap over his head that allowed only a small amount of his neon green hair to hang out as an eye patch covered his left eye. A heavy, bulletproof vest sat on his chest with six bombs strapped to the front and a jug of whiskey in his hand as he spun a clutch of lit dynamite around in the other.

"Too easy." Duncan shook his head with a grin before he guzzled his jug of intoxicating liquid and carelessly tossed the sizzling explosives onto the dazed soldier as he walked away, belching loudly as the dynamite went off and exploded into a large fireball that consumed Trey's corpse within milliseconds.

"Hey, Duh-can! Save some kills for the rest of us!" Jo snapped as she marched around a corner, wearing a lose, WWII helmet that covered her eyes with a heavy, yellow jacket over her dark pants and heavy boots with a flaming rocket on her shoulders. Strapped across Jo's chest was a pair of grenades, and a heavy rocket launcher was carried across her back.

"Whatever you say, Bazooka Babe." Duncan smirked as Jo fumed.

"Don't make me blast you." she growled.

"Whatever you say, Jockette." Duncan cackled before running away as fast as he could. Jo turned around on her heel to give chase, to hopefully teach Duncan a lesson or two before Sky suddenly came dashing up the hallway, a frantic and worried look on her face.

"What's got you so scared, shrimp?" Jo frowned.

"Micheal! He's on his way and nothing I throw at him is stopping him!" Sky cried.

"We'll see about that," Jo growled as she shifted her weapon. "It's time someone put the One Man Zoo in his place! C'mon!" she gestured for Sky to follow her, fearlessly charging around the corner and screaming at the top of her lungs with Sky hot on her heels. The soldier expected to see a massive, hulking creature that could have easily dismembered a human without even trying, plowing his way to the briefcase with Alan right behind him, both of them being overconfident in their abilities. Instead, she followed Duncan's freshly killed corpse, blood slowly trickling from his throat as his fingers twitched. **[3]**

"What's the big idea, shrimp!?" Jo turned on Sky, just in time to see a sick smirk cross her face before her image wavered and the gymnast vanished to be replaced by Paul. Before Jo could even fire her weapon or scream for help, Paul had sliced his butterfly knife across her throat and put a bullet through her forehead, smirking as her lifeless body dropped to the ground.

"I never really was on your side." Paul smirked before he vanished into thin air with a dark cackle.

* * *

><p><em><span><strong>Confessional<strong>_

"Normally I don't like abusing my powers, whether it's to kill people or skip out on a math test," Paul shrugged. "But I gotta say, I'm really enjoying this game!"

_**End Confessional**_

* * *

><p>Brick gulped as he nervously crept along the dark corridors, his eyes flickering back and forth while he squeezed his grip on his rocket launcher. The frail, wooden structure creaked and groaned around him as the wind blew loudly through the gaping holes in the ceiling above, creating sounds very much like the moaning and groaning of undead spirits. A sudden creaking noise caught his attention, and he whirled around to see nothing there.<p>

"Hello?" he gulped nervously, his pulse racing; another creak rang throughout the hallway.

"D-don't come any closer! I-I've got a weapon and I'm not afraid to use it!" Brick stammered, trying to sound brave as he pushed his WWII helmet farther down his head. Whatever was in the corridor with him didn't answer as a low groan echoed throughout the building.

"I-I'm warning you!" Brick cried louder. The creaking and groaning was now accompanied by a low, haunting moaning that sent shivers up Brick's spine as he shivered and quaked in his army boots, waiting for whatever was stalking him to show itself. His pulse was racing as the hairs on the back of his neck stood up, sweat dripping down his face in angst. He was just about to pull the trigger when a low gurgling sound came to his attention and he atrociously took a step forward, curious as to what was making the noise. After a few more careful steps, he neared the door frame that turned into the next hallway to his left; whatever was after him was around that corner, waiting to strike when he least expected it. Brick took a deep breath and summoned every last once of bravery he had before giving a loud battle cry and jumped out into the room, weapon aimed whatever was stalking him.

"Jasmine!?" he exclaimed, immediately lowering his weapon upon seeing his injured teammate before him; the Outback Survivalist was down on the floor, her legs completely shot and twisted beyond repair as she dragged herself along with her bleeding arms. Her rifle lay a crumbled mess on her back, now utterly useless as blood dripped from several cuts and bruises along her body and face.

"What happened to you, cadet!?" Brick asked, bending down to drag his fallen teammate to safety.

"Trey . . ." Jasmine coughed, blood speckling her shattered legs as Brick dragged her backwards. "Bugger nailed me with a rocket and left me for dead . . . pretty sure he got taken out by Duncan though . . ." she moaned. "Is this supposed to hurt? Because, quite honestly, I feel just fine."

"I think that's the mechanics of the machine talking." Brick grunted as he leaned Jasmine up against the wall and cocked his rocket launcher.

"Forget about me, Brick. I'm a goner." Jasmine sniffed, her energy draining away with every passing second.

"No can do, cadet." Brick shook his head. "It goes against my code: never leave a man, or woman, behind."

"If you say so," Jasmine gave a weak smile. "Are there any healing packs in this game?" she coughed, again spitting up blood.

"I think so. I think I saw one back the way I came." Brick grunted as he hefted his weapon and marched off down the hall back in the direction he came from, giving Jasmine one last look. Satisfied that she would be safe for the quick moment it would take to grab the health pack and save his team mate from death, Brick quickly jogged around the corner and scooped up the first aid kit lying on the ground for anyone to take it. Once he was sure the first aid kit was secure within his fingers, he swiftly turned around on his boot and jogged back to the corridor, only to find a scene of horror there.

Blood was splattered all over the walls, metal shards lying scattered about on the floor in all directions. Jasmine's bloody corpse lay limp on the ground, her right hand still twitching as blood poured out from the patch between her shoulders, right where her head would have been if it hadn't been torn from her shoulders as was currently being clutched in Micheal's tight fist as the Nisilaha breathed heavily, the bright red light that covered him starting to die away.

"Another one bites the dust." he simply said, crushing Jasmine's head into a bloody pulp of brain bits and bone scraps with his massive fist as he was suddenly consumed in a bright, red light and reverted back into his human form. "Lets make it two bite the dust." he grinned wickedly, pulling out his minigun and training it on Brick.

"FIRE!" Alan cried as he whipped out a weapon from within his lab coat and yanked back on the trigger; a dozen, hypodermic needles suddenly fired off from the gun, mercilessly embedding themselves into Brick's skin and injecting him several lethal toxins that made him feel like his lungs were on fire and that his heart was going to explode at any moment. Micheal pulled the trigger on his minigun and fired off a long round of bullets, peppering the walls and floors with bullets as several dozen punched through his armor and skin, killing him after a few relentless moments of gunfire.

"That was too easy." Alan smirked, raising his hand to high-five Micheal before he suddenly felt a stabbing sensation in his shoulder. He yelled with surprise and whirled around to see nothing as Micheal leveled his minigun at the air, ready to fire when ready; Alan cried out again as a spray of blood shot out of his back and he dropped to the floor, dead. Micheal decided it was the right time to beat a hasty retreat and jogged away as fast he could, not even bothering to look behind him as the air shimmered and gave away to Shawn; the Zombie Conspiracy Nut was dressed in a yellow, pinstripe suit with a match tie and fancy, black shoes on his feet. A mask obscured his face as he clenched his grip on his pistol, imaging a bullet going through Micheal's head.

"That's for killing the love of my life, you undead freak!" he cried. The sound of slow, calm footsteps followed by slow clapping caught his attention and he whirled around to see none other than Paul standing there, wearing an identical outfit to him, with the only exception being the main color was green.

"So, it seems I am not the only Spy, hmm?" Paul snarked in his French accent.

"It would seem so." Shawn frown, lacking the fancy accent his counterpart possessed.

"You do know I can not allow you to win, hmm?" Paul cocked an eyebrow, lighting a cigar and placing it between his lips as he twirled his butterfly knife around in his fingers.

"Wouldn't expect any less." Shawn gritted his teeth before screaming at the top of his lungs and lunging at Paul, hellbent on cutting him to little pieces; Paul merely dropped to the floor as Shawn passed overhead and popped back to his feet, grabbing Shawn's outstretched arm and twisting it behind his back, stopping him in his tracks. The Zombie Conspiracy Nut struggled before swiping at Paul's wrist with his butterfly knife, forcing the spy to let him go.

Now seriously annoyed, Paul lashed out with a leg and swept Shawn's feet out from under him, sending him to the floor with Paul tackled him. The two spies rolled around on the floor for several minutes, Shawn eventually managing to wrap his hands around Paul's throat and throttle him until Paul managed to knee him in his nether regions, forcing Shawn to let go. The GRN spy then roughly grabbed Shawn by the shoulders and slammed him into the weak, wooden wall next to him, whipping out his butterfly knife and holding it to Shawn's throat.

"See you in **BEEP!**" Paul grinned as he pulled his arm to slice the blade across Shawn's throat. At the last second, Shawn rammed his head into Paul's nose, sending the knife flying into the air and otno the floor where it clattered out of reach. With a yell, furious that his nose had been broken, Paul slugged Shawn in the face before driving a fist into his gut and then giving him a swift upper cut when the YLW spy's head bent down. With a final yell, Paul lashed out with his leg once more and kicked Shawn in the face, sending him right through the wall where he fell out into the open air and slammed into the concrete wall of the canal and dropped down into the murky water below.

"Until we meet again, _adversaire_." Shawn heard Paul mutter in French before the sound of his fancy shoes clopping loudly against the wooden floor faded away. The YLW spy sighed with relief, happy that his foe believed him to be dead and didn't bother to make sure he was dead; this would give him a chance to build his strength and health back up until he was ready to get back in the game. And if he could find his team's Medic, it would be sooner than he thought. A low, throaty growl caught his attention and he turned in the rancid water to see nothing but a few, old cans and a rotting log in the water. Shrugging it off as the wooden forts settling, Shawn paddled his way to the large tube of the sewers that would lead back into his base.

A second rumble caught his attention, and he turned around again. There was still no sign of the source of the sound: same old cans, same disgusting water that was staining his suit, same rotting log that was swimming towards him. That last one made him do a double take. By the time he realized what was happening, it was too late.

His dying screams were drowned out by the splash of the water and the bellowing of a large, crocodile as it devoured him.

**Confessional**

"I don't know how it's possible, but Shawn tasted terrible!" Toni shuddered. "When was the last time he showered!?"

_**End Confessional**_

* * *

><p>Wilson crept around the halls of his base, his fingers wrapped tightly around his sticky bomb launcher. So far, there had been no sign of the enemy within the GRN base, most of the other team being deterred by Maurananei's firing. That, and the fact that Paul, Micheal, and Alan were taking them down from the inside out. He could only hope that they would be able to hold out long enough to win against the YLW team; they were facing off against seasoned, hardened contestants that had been forced to weather through the worst the world had to offer them at the hands of a madman that seemed hellbent on killing them in the most horrific way imaginable. Sure, they had various abilities and powers that allowed them to survive far worse, but it seemed the game had a way of twisting these in ways that didn't seem extremely useful to him. For instance, Micheal could change his shape at will in the real world, where in the virtual world he needed an Ubercharge from a medic to do so.<p>

A loud, clanging noise caught his attention as he rounded the corner to see Zelda banging her monkey wrench across the top of a strange device; the machine stood on three, bending legs as it unpacked itself from a toolbox, the top piece spinning around on an axis before it gave a beep and activate. The top part moved back and forth quietly, a gun barrel poking out of the end as it beeped and whirled. Wilson was about to greet her, as the engineer hadn't seen him yet when a stabbing pain coursed through his head as a dull, green light washing over him and changing his figure into a tall, stick-like frame with toothpick arms and legs that made him almost skeletal. His clothes shifted to accommodate his new shape as he grinned wickedly and pumped his sticky gun. With a low chuckle, he pulled the trigger and fired off two small, spiked balls that quickly stuck to the floor underneath Zelda's sentry. The Demoman cackled loudly as he backpedaled before turning around and full out running as an explosion rocked the hallway, sending machinery bits and blood everywhere.

"Ah, feels good to be back!" Serphonus sighed happily. His happiness was soon short lived when something suddenly slammed into his shoulder, sending him flying into the wall at the end of the hallway, the thing in his shoulder embedded deep in the wooden wall and trapping him there. He struggled to wretch himself free, but the fireman's ax held him fast to the wood; the slow sound of boots against the wooden boards caught his attention and he felt a shiver go up his spine when he saw what was making the noise.

_**Confessional**_

"I fear no one," Micheal frowned angrily. He then gulped and looked back and forth before edging closer to the camera. "But that . . . thing? It scares me." he shuddered.

_**Change Confessional**_

"N-n-no!" Caroline cried. "M-make it stop! M-ma-make it go away! G-go away!"

_**Change Confessional**_

"That . . . thing . . . will forever haunt my nightmares." Serphonus shivered.

_**Change Confessional**_

"One shudders to imagine what inhuman thoughts hide behind that mask." Paul said with haunted eyes."

_**End Confessional**_

A low, haunting sound filled the hallway as Serphonus's blood slowly dripped onto the wooden floor. The witch doctor found he couldn't tear his frightened eyes away from his coming tormentor, finding every feature both terrifying and interesting at the same time. The heavy, rubber boots slowly clomped against the wooden boards as the rubber gloves flexed their fingers, tightening and loosening their grip on a clunky, heavy machine that made Serphonus freeze. The fire retardant suit gave away no small features, though Wilson noticed it was actually smaller and thinner than Mithcell's. But what frightened Serphonus the most, even more than the large flamethrower aimed directly at his face, was the dark, soulless eyes of the gas mask that obscured the person's face as their loud breathing filled Serphonus's ears.

"H-hello?" he gulped nervously as the Pyro starred at him without emotion.

The Pyro didn't respond but merely leveled the flamethrower at Serphonus's face and pulled the trigger, their face never giving away at emotion as Serphonus screamed with fright and melted before its eyes, the skin igniting and peeling away from the body before the muscles melted and the bones were burnt to an ash, leaving nothing but the Demoman's stick gun behind.

A creak caught the thing's attention and it yanked the ax out of the wall just in time to block a bullet from Anuok as she raced down the hall towards it. The Scout silently screamed a battle cry and pulled out a large fish wrapped in newspaper from her pocket, raising it above her head to bring it down on the Pyro's skull; believe it for not, dead fish actually made a decent weapon. Unfortunately for the mute Scout, the Pyro swung her ax and swung her in the gut, sending her flying to the floor. Before she could even scramble out of the way, the Pyro leveled its flamethrower at her and pulled the trigger, showering her in a tidal wave of fire that destroyed every last trace of her.

"Mmmphf! Mmumumumuph!" the Pyro cackled with glee before bounding down the hallway in a way that was usually reserved for crazy monkeys that had just drunken a whole barrel of caffeinated coffee. The Pyro then suddenly threw themselves against the nearest wall, the sound of footsteps catching her attention they sounded fast and as if there were actually four legs instead of just two. Normally, this meant multiple targets, but the clothed figure knew that with its quarry, almost anything was possible. It cocked its flamethrower and tested the flame quietly, a mouthless smile forming on its face when it saw the intense, blue flame created; the footsteps got closer. With a loud yell, the Pyro pulled the trigger just as the footsteps ran past them, a loud whine of pain filling the air as a large, white wolf was caught in the searing flames. The poor animal howled in misery as the fire ate away at its fur and started on its skin, blistering and blackening it before it started on the tissue. The wolf snarled and rounded on the Pyro, pouncing on it and furiously biting its arm, its teeth sinking right through the flame retardant suit and into the person's skin as the wolf roared and shook its head. The Pyro struggled and gave muffled yells of anger before it finally managed to shove Toni of of it and throw her into a wall, blasting her with another wave of fire for good measure before the wolf died and remained still.

Breathing heavily, the Pyro reached with its hands and pulled the gas mask off of its head, releasing a shower of frizzy, red hair and wild, green eyes, both of them set atop a crazy grin.

"Now that's what Izzy calls a hotdog!" the insane redhead cackled madly before shoving the gas mask on her head and carelessly strolling the down the hall, humming 'Pop goes the Weasel' all the way.

_**Confessional**_

"Izzy loves Team For-" the redhead began before she was cut off by a certain host.

"Shut it! We didn't get the rights, Izzy!" Chris snapped angrily over the loudspeakers.

"Fine! Whatever lets you sleep at night with your teddy bear!" Izzy shot back. **[4]**

"You leave Mr. Snuffles out of this!" Chris cried back before realizing what he had just said for the entire, viewing world to hear. "Aw, crap!"

"Another victory for E-scope!" Izzy cackled.

_**End Confessional**_

* * *

><p>Cameron gulped nervously, pushing up on the hardhat that kept slipping down and obscuring his vision. He had successfully managed to upgrade his little sentry to level three, a model that included automatic turrets and a small, missile launcher at the top, the constant beeping noise being the only thing that kept him from utterly freaking out over the situation as he quietly patted the monkey wrench in his hands. So far, he hadn't seen a single sign of another person in the base, save for Samey when she came rushing through to the aid of an injured Owen.<p>

Correction, Cameron thought to himself. **Sammy **entered the room.

This made his job of guarding the briefcase all the more frightening, with no sign of anyone else to comfort him. All he had heard for the past hour and a half was constant gunfire and explosions that slowly got quieter and farther in between, meaning someone had been picked off in the mad fight for the other team's briefcase. The Bubble Boy would have much rather preferred to spend the time figuring out how Toni morphed her body into other animals, how Micheal's Animatrix worked, or how Mitchell was able to control fire, but Chris would have none of that. The host had forced him to the enter the game as a scrawny Engineer and forced him risk his virtual life for something he wasn't allowed to look at. All of this however, seemed more like a tiny annoyance than something to be really worried about; the sheer fact that he was forced to be on the same team as Izzy of all people, sent shivers up his spine.

"Oh, well," he sighed, pushing up his glasses. "Better with her than against her." he chuckled slightly before a creaking noise caught his attention. The scrawny Engineer let his wrench fall to the ground and quickly whipped out his shotgun, his hands quivering as he fingered the trigger nervously. The steps got closer and closer, peppering the wooden floor in rapid succession as if someone were running very fast. Suddenly, a figure burst into the room and Cameron started firing wildly, squeezing his eyes shut tight as he screamed and sent bullet after bullet into the wooden frame of the fort, hoping to hit whatever had run into the room with him.

"Get away from me!" Cameron cried.

"You get away from me!" the thing screamed back, bouncing all around the room like an out of control pinball of doom. Cameron continued to scream, firing all willy nilly before he heard heard a sickening splatter and a loud scream of fear that echoed throughout the entire fort; he cracked open his eyes to see Caroline lying on the floor, clutching her ankle and trying to cover up the bleeding wound in her sky.

"Yes!" Cameron cheered before remembering something. "Sorry!" he added.

"No problem!" Caroline managed to gasp; the wound didn't hurt, thanks to the Virtual Reality machine numbing the pain, but it didn't make it any less terrifying to see. She see right through herself all the way to the pearly white bone under her skin and tissue, a very sickening sight. Why she wasn't puking her guts out was a mystery to her. Then she remembered something.

"Uh, Cameron?" she gulped nervously. "I know we're on opposite teams and all, but I really think you should be running."

"Why?" Cameron asked worriedly before the wooden wall exploded into a shower of splinters behind Caroline, The Bubble Boy coughed at the saw dust in his lungs, hacking and waving his hand in front of his face and unable to see much through the cloud of dust. All he could really see was a large, looming figure that was well over ten feet tall and had a box-like head between two, large spikes on each shoulder. As the dust began to disappear, the spikes turned out to be metal conductors of sorts, a dangerous amount of electricity crackling between them as the large, human-like creature clenched and cracked its fists as he grit his teeth, sporting an under bite that made him look rather unintelligent. The large creature wore a pair of large, black pants and being bigger boots with red slits down the front and patchwork skin that seemed to be held together by stitches and bolts; embedded into his left pectoral was a strange symbol that looked like an open maw with a black tongue curling over the sharp fangs as the Pabaisanite crashed his fists together, an arc of lightning traveling up his arms and to his two conductors, casting long and dark shadows along the walls.

"That's why." Caroline said grimly as the large, Frankenstein-like monster bellowed and charged into the room, making sure to step over Caroline as it made a grab for Cameron. The Bubble Boy screamed at the top of his lungs and ducked out of the way before lashing out with his leg in the hopes of tripping the large, monster-like alien; instead, his puny leg merely bounced off of Micheal, his entire body vibrating as if he had just struck a steel wall.

"Not a good idea, kid." the Pabaisanite shook his head as he lunged at Cameron, only to miss and instead ram his head right through the floor.

"GAH!" Cameron yelped, dodging a blast of electricity from Micheal's conductors as he ran for cover behind his sentry just as the large alien managed to pull himself free with an annoyed growl. The sentry finally seemed to notice the presence of an enemy fired off a round of bullets before blasting several missiles at Micheal, succeeding in nailing him several times with the bullets before he managed to incinerate the missiles with a blast of blood red electricity. "Game over, Cam." Micheal frowned as he lumbered over to Cameron and crushed the sentry into a pile of scrap metal with one quick move of his large, fist. "I'll make this quick." he added Cameron shook like a leaf in a hailstorm, his body all tingly as Micheal built up the energy between his conductors for a final blast that would end Cameron in one move.

_**Confessional**_

"I know I've said this before, but someone should really bottle adrenaline," Cameron smiled smuggly, pushing his glasses up his face. "Ah, adrenaline. Nature's energy drink." he sighed.

_**Change Confessional**_

"So there I was, about to get even with Bubble Boy for hurting my girl, when suddenly POW!" Micheal socked his palm into his gist for emphasis. "Kid's got firepower though." he added with a satisfied smirk.

_**End Confessional**_

With a sudden scream, Alan rushed at Micheal and slammed his entire body into the Pabaisanite with as much force as he could muster, sending the two of them stumbling back towards the gaping hole in the wall. Unable to see where he was going, Micheal tripped over Caroline's fallen form and tumbled out of the massive hole in the wall, Cameron managing to grip the edge with his fingers at the last second as Micheal painfully crashed right through the bridge that stretched across the canal and landed in the muddy water below.

"Well played, Cam. Well played." was the last thing Cameron heard Micheal say before he went under; he did not resurface.

"It's now five losers to four, with the YLW Team in the lead!" Chris announced in an annoyed tone. "And will someone go after the briefcase already!?"

"Don't make me shoot you, McLean!" Maurananei snapped.

"Gah! Game on!" Chris yelped before the mic went out with a loud squeal.

"So, uh, what are you going to do with me?" Caroline whimpered as Cameron hauled himself back up, his arms nearly giving out before he managed to get himself on solid ground. The Bubble gasped for breath, gulping in fresh air after his near death experience.

"What I'm supposed to do," Cameron sighed, pulling his shotgun out of his pocket and cocking it. "Sorry in advance." he added before squeezing his eyes shut and pulling trigger; a loud bang! Echoed across the map as Cameron felt something wet splatter against his skin.

"I hope I never have to do that again." he shivered as he returned to his broken sentry and began repairs.

* * *

><p>Sammy sniffed and wiped her tearful eyes. She had to brave and summon every last ounce of courage within her if she were to avenge the only friend she had in the world fully. With a deep breath, she cocked her Syringe Gun and quietly crept along the hallways of the enemy fortress, slowly making her way towards the location where the briefcase was being held. Her pulse racing, she yanked off the glasses that had been forced upon her face and fingered the trigger on her weapon. A loud creaking noise caught her attention and she froze like a deer in a pair of headlights and pressed herself against the wall, holding her breath and praying whoever was coming her way wouldn't see her.<p>

"Mmmphf! Mmph mghpgf!"

Sammy cracked open her eyes and nearly collapsed from relief when she heard that voice. She cocked her gun and peered around the corner just be sure that the voice belonged to who she hoped it was. She heard the sound of heavy boots slapping against the old, wooden planks of the fortress and the quiet hiss of flames. Deciding better to be safe than sorry, she gave a scream and fired off her Syringe Gun in rapid succession, her eyes squeezed tight as hundreds of needles fired upon the Pyro and embedded themselves deep within the suit. After a few minutes, Sammy's gun clicked on empty and she forced her eyes open to see the Pyro standing there. Suddenly, the Pyro's figure flickered and wavered, becoming thinner, angular, and taller with each passing second until the Pyro was gone to be replaced by a Spy in a green pinstripe suit.

"Oi." was all Paul managed to say before he dropped to the ground, dead.

"Sorry." Sammy whimpered before a low, thumping sound caught her attention and she leaped over Paul's body to press herself against the wall once more, a corner just to her right that gave her cover should anyone manage to surprise her. She sucked in a deep breath, now feeling a little more confident than before and waited several more seconds before jumping out and firing off her newly reloaded Syringe Gun in rapid succession, forcing her eyes to stay open as she fired upon the victim in front of her; Sammy didn't stop firing until her gun had clicked on empty and she dared to peek at who she had just filled full of needles.

Lying on the ground, her eyes wide with fear and her skin charred and covered in burns, her uniform burnt and her hardhat dented, was Zelda with dozens of needles in her arms, chest and face. Sammy winced upon seeing the horrific expression forever plastered to Zelda's face but quickly got over it by slipping past her and forcing the image out of her mind; Zelda wasn't really dead. She was now back in the real world, alive and well, though possibly shocked and terrified beyond belief.

"Hiya, Sammy Whammy!"

"GAH!" Sammy screamed, firing off her empty Syringe Gun before she realized who was yelling at her.

"Izzy! Don't scare me like that!" Sammy gasped, clenching her left breast where her heart would have been. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Really?" Izzy grinned wickedly, her helmet under her arm and her flamethrower clipped to her back. "Cool!"

"No,

not cool!" Sammy breathed. "I've been looking everywhere for you."

"You have?" Izzy wiggled her eyebrows, a seductive smile crossing her face as she moved over to the Medic and slithered hands across her body in a manner that made Sammy incredibly uncomfortable.

"No! Not like that!" Sammy pushed Izzy away. "Stop that!"

"Don't deny Izzy! Because Izzy will find you!" Izzy cackled.

"You are really starting to scare me," Sammy whimpered. "So, uh, who's left?"

"Other than you and Izzy?" the Pyro grinned. "Big-O and Spider Food!"

"You mean Owen and Cameron?"

"Whatever works for Izzy!" Izzy laughed. "C'mon! Lets get the big, floaty suitcase thing and win this!"

"Are you su- AHHH!" Sammy yelped as Izzy grabbed hold of her wrist tightly and yanked her forward, practically dragging her along the hallway as she charged across the wooden floors and bounced off of the walls like a crazy monkey chasing down a banana cart. Sammy screamed the whole way, praying that she would live long enough to return back to the safety of Jasmine's powerful arms; heck, she would have even wished to live long enough to hear her annoying sister's whining again. Before long, they had reached the room where the GRN Team's briefcase waited, sitting right on a table out in the open under a shaft of sunlight where anyone could have seen and/or taken it without incident.

"There it is! Izzy's a genius!" Izzy cackled as she bounded over to the briefcase and grabbed it in her rubber gloved hand, turning right around on heel and ready to make a mad dash for the exit when a low, slow clapping caught her attention. She turned to the source of the noise and grinned wickedly when she saw her GRN counterpart step out of the shadows, his gas mask stuck fast to his head and his flamethrower at the ready.

"Ooh! A Pyro-off!" Izzy grinned as she tossed the briefcase to Sammy. "Run, Sammy Whammy! Run the wind! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" she cackled madly as she put her gas mask back on and charged at Mitchell with her fireman's ax raised above her head as Mitchell fired off his flamethrower. Sammy didn't stick around to see how things would turn out as she quickly turned tail and ran as fast as her legs could carry her, running down twisted hallways and running up and down ramps and stairs, hoping she would find the exit. She was so busy looking for a way out of the wooden deathtrap, she didn't even notice Owen until she had slammed right into him at the last second and landed flat on her back, disoriented.

"You okay?" Owen asked, attempting to bend down and help the tiny cheerleader up, only succeeding in terrifying her at the threat of getting crushed underneath his humungous girth.

"F-fine." Sammy sighed. "Just really stressed out. I gotta get this thing back to the base before we lose." she held up the briefcase for Owen to see.

"Well what are we waiting for? Lets go!" the rotund giant cried happily, scooping up Sammy under one arm and crashing right through the wooden wall next to him, only to fall to the ground below.

"AHHHHH-HAHAHAHAHA!" Owen screamed before he managed to land on his feet and start running once more; Sammy was too busy actually trying to breath under the layers of fat that coated Owen's arms to even think about screaming. All she could do was gasp for breath and hang onto the briefcase for dear life as Owen ran as best as he could, his body fat jiggling back and forth underneath his bulletproof vest.

"Hey! Get back here with that!" Maurananei cried, firing off her sniper rifle and just barely grazing Owen's arm. The rotund giant didn't listen and continued to run as fast as his little legs could carry him over the covered bridge, the fragile, wooden structure bouncing and jostling with every thunderous step he took that threatened to break the bridge in two. Maurananei gritted her teeth and jumped off from her vantage point and to the ground, rolling along before popping back up with her kukri in hand as she chased after Owen and Sammy, racing across the bridge just as it gave out. She skillfully jumped along the falling pieces and just barely managed to grab the lip of the canal and haul herself up as the rest of the bridge fell into the water below; a massive, fiery explosion went off behind her, tidal waves of heat pounding against her back from her team's fort, but she ignored it. Her sights were only set on shish-kabobing Owen and securing her team's briefcase once more.

"We're gonna dieeeeeeee!" Owen wailed as he ran. "AAAAAHHHHAHAHAHAHAHA!" he cried as he skidded around a corner and ran out into the junkyard of his fort before hanging a sharp right and jogging up the ramp that led up to the second floor just as Maurananei swung her kukri and sank it deep into the wooden planks; Owen continued to run like mad as Maurananei struggled to get the blade out as the human fart machine continued to run, Sammy's face now a light shade of red.

"Don't worry, buddy! We're gonna make it!" Owen huffed.

"O-owen . . . I . . . can't . . . breath!" Sammy choked, her face now a deep shade of lavender. "Ab-bout . . . to pass . . . pass out!" she gasped before slipping into unconsciousness.

"Hang in there, buddy! Almost there!" Owen called out as he skidded to a halt and began running towards the room with their briefcase, his little, beady eyes quickly glancing at Cameron as he neared the room.

"EEEEEEYAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Maurananei roared as she sudden;y crashed threw the floor in front of Owen, her breathing heavy and raged as she glared at the rotund giant with a savage look and her kukri in hand.

"OH, THE HORROR!" Owen cried as Maurananei roared again and charged at him. "Fly, Sammy! FLY!" Owen wailed as he chucked the unconscious Medic over Maurananei's head and through the door frame into the briefcase room where Sammy rolled and tumbled across the floor and crashed into her team's breifcase.

"Game over! The YLW Team wins!" Chris's loud voice came over the loudspeaker. "Looks like one of the rookies is going home tonight!"

"Yes!" Owen and Cameron cheered; Sammy drooled slightly.

"NO!" Maurananei screamed as a bright light encased her and the others and sent them back into the real world where she would no doubt try to strange Chris and beat him over the head with his own limbs once she had torn them free of his body. Something that pretty much everyone else on the show would love to see.

* * *

><p>"GRN Team, or should I say rookies," Chris began with his ever infamous smirk on his face. "Not your best game. Considering you group of super powered freaks lost to a group of regular teenagers, some of which included the likes of Owen and Izzy, that's kinda sad."<p>

Micheal let out a low growl and picked up an empty log in the mouth of the snake rooted to his shoulder, passing it onto one of his Nisilaha arms and crushing it into splinters.

"Micheal says to, quote on quote, cut the, um, **BEEP! **and get on with it." Caroline translated, wincing at the choice of words. "Before he, uh, grinds you into a gooey pulp." she added as the snake arm hissed in her ear.

"Gah! Okay, okay!" Chris gulped fearfully. "The following campers are safe: Mitchell, Wilson, Toni, Caroline, Alan, Anuok, and Paul. Come collect your marshmallows." Chris announced as the campers quickly grabbed their individual fluffy treats and scrambled back into their seats; Micheal, Maurananei, Trey, and Zelda left, the campfire illuminating their varied expressions of annoyance and impatience.

"Trey, you were first to be killed and did very little for your team," Chris reviewed. "And Maurananei, you failed to save your team's briefcase in time before Owen of all people won the challenge for his team. Fortunately for the both of you, neither one of you is going home tonight." Chris tossed them their marshmallows as the two of them nearly collapsed with relief.

"That leaves Micheal and Zelda," Chris continued, a dark grin crossing his face. "Zelda you're on the chopping block for betraying your team last episode and failing to regain their trust. Micheal, you're here for . . . actually, I don't know. Maybe your fellow teammates got tired of you constantly threatening me." Chris shrugged.

"Yeah, right." everyone grumbled in unison.

"Whatever," Chris shrugged. "And the loser going home tonight is . . ." he trailed off, a dark smirk crossing his face as he milked the moment for the ratings. Zelda nervously looked back and forth between the final marshmallow in Chris's fingers and her fellow teammates that refused to look her in the eye, save for Anuok who merely starred at her with a sad expression. Micheal seemed indifferent to the others, merely glaring at Chris with steely eyes as he opened and closed his fists, slurping up a stray amount of saliva dripping from his fanged maw.

"Micheal! You're outta here!" Chris announced, tossing Zelda the marshmallow; the fluffy treat merely fell to the ground as everyone gasp as Micheal let out a loud bellow that sent shivers up Chris's spine.

_**Confessional**_

"It's nothing personal against Micheal, but I'd rather compete against someone who's already so close to going home than someone who can turn into a hundred foot tall colossus." Mitchell shrugged.

_**Change Confessional**_

"Micheal has nothing left for him here," Maurananei shook her head. "He was a good guy to have around, but with the team's now merged, he's the biggest threat out there. Literally."

**_Change Confessiona_l**

"I'm not saying I voted for Micheal because he scares the crap outta me, but I'd rather not be crushed to a bloody paste later on in the competition." Alan gulped nervously.

_**Change Confessional**_

Serphonus scoffed. "Really? You had to ask?"

_**End Confessional**_

"C'mon, Micheal! Get! In! The! Sub!" Chris grunted as he and Chef tried to force Micheal's huge bulk through the small hatch of the submarine docked at the rotting pier.

"Chris, he's not gonna fit. It's impossible for something that big to fit through an opening that small." Zelda shook her head. "Even Lindsay of all people would know that."

"Well, what do you suggest I do!?" Chris snapped angirly.

"He has wings, dude," Trey shook his head. "Let him fly out with his dignity in tact. He's already had his heart crush to a pulp, lost out on a chance at a million dollars, and is trapped as freak of nature for who knows how long."

"No!" Chris snapped. "This show is all about betrayal and pain! Humiliation and pain! And did I mention PAIN!" Chris cried just as a thick, rubbery tentacle wrapped itself around him and squeezed him tight, retching him off of the roof of the sub and bringing him up to Micheal's face, just an inch from his razor sharp teeth.

"I don't think I have to translate what that means." Caroline gave a small smile.

"Fine! Whatever! Just put me down!" Chris cried. Micheal hissed and threw Chris over his shoulder and far off across the horizon where he would most likely land in the lake and have to swim back to shore if his private yacht didn't pick him up first. Micheal turned his attention to the rest of the contestants and waved farwell with his Nisilaha arms before turning to take to the skies and return home.

"Wait!"

Micheal froze and turned around on the sub, the submersible dipping down in the water under his weight as he moved to see Caroline trying to scramble up the side of the sub; the snake in Micheal's shoulder carefully grabbed Caroline's waist in its jaws and hefted her up to Micheal's eye level to speak, the glassy eyes on either side of his head never straining away from the small girl in his hands.

"If it's okay with you I'd . . ." Caroline bit her lip, trying to form the words in her mouth. "I'd still like to be together once the competition's over."

Micheal growled and hissed, flaring up his wings and gesturing with all four of his arms to his massive bulk, careful to avoid poking Caroline in the eye with his tusks and horns.

"Yes, even with your . . . problem . . . I still love you." Caroline's face flushed a deep red before Micheal pulled her into his chest, hugging her tightly; everyone, even Chef, all cooed and awed at the sight while Wilson tried not to puke up his lunch as his eyes glowed an ominous purple. After a few minutes, Micheal gently set her down on the dock and turned his back on her and the rest of the crowd, giving them one last wave goodby before he flapped his wings and took to the night sky.

"Who will be voted out next?" Chef began, reading off a note card that him sound like the caveman he so much looked like. "Will Zelda ever be able to regain the trust of her teammates? And will Maurananei ever stop sending me death threats?"

"UNLIKELY, **BEEP!**" Maurananei roared, chucking a rock at his head and missing.

"Find out next time on Total! Drama! Pahkitew's Vengeance!" Chef finished before beaitng a hasty retreat as Maurananei continued to throw stuff at him and succeeded in hitting him in the back of his head with a fish.

**And there we go! After an eternity, I am finally done! Whew!**

**[1] GRN actually stands for Global Radio Network, and YLW stands for Yard Logistics Workers. I got these two titles off of a post I found on Google Plus.  
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**[2] In TF2, the Heavy has named his gun 'Sasha'. Creepy.**

**[3] No idea why I put that there.**

**[4] It has been proven, through the embarrassing footage of Chris during Season 2, that he does sleep with a teddy bear. Whether it is name Mr. Snuffles is up to debate.**

**As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!**


	14. Walk on the Wild Side

**Hello, it is I! _Creaturemaster _back here with yet another chapter for your viewing pleasure!**

**First off, I could not have done this chapter without the help of a very loyal reader. Give it up for _JVM-_SP150 aka the creator of Alan! Seriously, I don't think this chaper would have even been written had he not given me a lot of help with it. You rock, dude!**

**And to be honest, I really have nothing else to say right now. I doubt I really ever will have anything worth while saying, so I'm gonna shut up now and let you go ahead and read!**

**As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!**

**Onwards!**

"Last time on Total Drama: Pahkitew's Vengeance! The contestants went head to head against some old veterans that still proved they had what it takes in another Virtual Reality map that was both brutal and highly amusing. For me at least." Chris chuckled as he stood on the docks, working the camera like he was born to. "The rookies came, they nearly saw, but in the end lost to the veteran contestants, proving that just because you have super powers doesn't mean you automatically win. In the end, it was the freak show of a thorn in my side Micheal that was sent packing! Man, is it good to have him gone, because I never liked the guy! Constantly threatening me and ruining my fun!" Chris grumbled.

"Package for ya!" Chef announced as he shuffled down the dock with a package in hand.

"Who's it from?" Chris asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Doesn't say." Chef shrugged, handing the package to Chris. The host curiously examined the parcel before shrugging and tearing open the package, eager to find out what was inside. Just as his fingers curled on the flap of the cardboard box and lifted it up, the box suddenly exploded in Chris's grip, splattering him with a dark, black substance.

"GAH! My beautiful face!" Chris wailed.

"Hope you like octopus ink," Chef read a small note that had been blown into his grip from the small explosion. "Hope your life is short and miserable, love Micheal." Chef concluded.

"AAAGH!" Chris roared with rage. "Even when he's eliminated he continues to drive me insane!" Chris fumed before returning his attention to the camera. "Will anyone ever trust Zelda again? How long will Toni and Paul remain a couple? And when will I ever get my revenge on Micheal? Most these probably won't be answered on this episode of Total! Drama! Pahkitew's Vengeance!"

_**(theme song plays)**_

Caroline felt something nudging her head gently; she stirred in her sleep slightly, trying to brush off the minor annoyance and return to her lair of dreams. Seconds later, the nudging became more forceful and tough, as if someone was poking her with a plank of wood. She groaned and blinked her eyes before yawning, inhaling the sweet scent of hay and fresh apples, with a hint of the warm earth to spice things up; standing over her, his tail swishing back and forth to ward off a cloud of annoying flies was Fracture, starring at her with his wide eyes.

_Morning, Cupcake. _Fracture said.

"Morning, Roger." Caroline stretched. "How'd I end up in the stables?"

_You came walking in here last night snoring your noggin off, _Fracture explained. _You actually shoveled hay and manure in your sleep too before you stopped._

"Sorry if I woke you up." Caroline apolgized.

_Don't sweat it, kid. From the things you were murmuring, you were pretty upset about something. _Fracture waved it off.

"Attention, freaks of all respective nature!" Chris's obnoxious voice rang out loudly over the island. "Meet me down at the dock for your daily dose of pain, humiliation, and PAIN!"

_Remind me to kick him in his kiwis when I get the chance. _Fracture frowned. _You better get going, Cupcake._

"Later, Fracture! I'll try to smuggle you guys some sugar cubes when I get the chance!" Caroline bid her horse friends farewell as she rushed out of the stables and through the woods to the dock.

_**Confessional**_

"I suspect the reason Chris acts so cruel to us is because he was bullied as a child, much like I am," Caroline hypothesized. "I very well could have ended up like him had I not met Micheal, Maurananei, and Toni. I hope I can stay in touch with them once the game's over; I'd love to see everyone's reaction when they meet my friends." she smiled.

_**End Confessional**_

* * *

><p>When Caroline arrived at the docks, she found everyone else waiting for her, save for Chef; Chris was impatiently tapping his foot and checking at his watch before Caroline scampered up onto the docks and took a position beside Maurananei.<p>

"About time!"Chris snapped. "It's a half hour show, people!"

"Why does it matter to you? The editors will just cut things until everything's in a thirty minute clip." Alan said.

"Whatever!" Chris frowned, apparently ticked off at something. "Anyway, today's challenge will test your intellect, it will test your strength, it will test your endurance, and it will test how many bites, scratches, and possible maulings you can receive!"

"That does not sound like fun." Zelda whimpered.

"It's supposed to sound like fun to you! It's supposed to sound like fun to _me_!" Chris cackled.

"Get on with the challenge already!" Maurananei snapped.

"Fine, fine. Geez, talk about high strung." Chris rolled his eyes. "No wonder parents hate teenagers."

"I'm gonna let that comment pass." Maurananei narrowed her eyes, imagining Chris's neck between her fingers, his skull underneath her feet, and her knives driven into his vital organs; it was a rather pleasant thought.

"Anyways, today you'll be going into the dank, dark, bug-infested woods of Pahkitew to find and bring back an animal," Chris explained. "And you have to bring it back _unharmed_." he added upon seeing Maurananei's devious look.

"This sounds suspiciously like a redo of a challenge from Season 1," Wilson frowned, rubbing his chin in thought. "Are you getting so old you're having trouble figuring out ideas for new challenges?"

"I am not old!" Chris snapped angrily. "Now stop interrupting me!"

"Well, excuse me." Wilson frowned.

_**Confessional**_

"Chris is on edge," Wilson tapped his chin. "Maybe he forgot to take his morning coffee today?" he wondered before suddenly gasping and clutching his chest, coughing violently before he was finally allowed a breath of fresh air; his airs had turned a deep violet in color and a dark demeanor had fallen over the boy. "And that's the way I like it." Serphonus grinned darkly. "That means he'll be too grumpy to care if I . . . mess with the others."

_**End Confessional**_

"Now, step right up and draw an animal out of the hat." Chris ordered, holding up a safari hat filled with cards with pictures on them.

Caroline was the first to step forward and dig around in the hat, pulling out a card after a few minutes. "A deer?" she wondered.

"A buck to be specific." Chris added as Mitchell slipped a hand into the helmet and pulled out a card between his fingers.

"A fish? A FISH!?" Mitchell yelled. "Are you trying to put me at a disadvantage here because, let me make this clear to you, fire and water do _not _mix!" he snapped angrily.

"Hey, you're the one that drew the card, not me." Chris shrugged without a care.

Mitchell walked back to the group, grumbling under his breath as Maurananei stepped up and plucked a card from the top pile. "What the- what the heck is this thing?" she wondered, holding up the card for Chris to see.

"That would be my dear pet, Larry," Chris grinned darkly. "You know, dinosaur-sized, meat-eating plant with an appetite to match?"

"That's a plant, not an animal!" Caroline protested.

"True, but do plants actually move around in search of prey?" Chris raised an eyebrow. "I didn't think so. Plus, I don't care." he added.

Maurananei actually seemed rather okay with her selection as she had a broad, dark smirk on her face, a series of plans and traps already forming in her head as she crumbled the card between her fingers; Trey came up next and dipped his hand into the bottom of the hat and pulled out the card.

"A polar bear?" Trey was skeptical. "Last time I checked we were in British Columbia, not the Arctic Circle."

"We had it flown in special." Chris grinned.

"But, aren't polar bears an endangered species or something?" Trey wondered.

Chris was about to answer before it dawned on him. "Note to self, ready the lawyers." he mumbled into a recording device he had drawn from his pocket; Paul came up next, digging around in the hat for a few seconds before pulling out another card.

"What is this, a tiger?" he wondered.

"Lion, actually." Chris grinned. "Good luck with that one, dude."

Paul frowned as Toni gave him a sympathetic smile and dipped a hand in the hat, grabbing one of the few cards left and pulled it out. "Alligator?" she guessed.

"Crocodile, actually." Chris corrected. "Now hurry up! We're on a limited schedule here!"

Wilson rolled his eyes and came up next, pulling out a card and glancing over the picture. "A monkey?" he wondered.

"Orangutan." Chris corrected. "Seriously, is it that hard to tell the difference between a monkey and an ape?"

"Not a lot of people care, unfortunately." Zelda sighed. "I mean, you'd think it'd be obvious considering primates of the Hominidae order don't posess prehensile tails, such as primates belonging to the Cebidae or Callitrichidae families. Really, it should be obvious considering great apes are not as arboreal as other primates, due to the fact that they lack the prehensile-"

"No one cares, Zelda!" Chris interrupted. "Stop trying to sway them with your lies and pick a card already!"

"But I-" Zelda protested before she was cut off by a stern glare from Toni. The genius gulped and merely took a step forward, digging a hand into the hat and grabbing one of the few cards left. "I . . . don't think I recognize this animal species." she quirked an eyebrow.

"That's because it is none other than the elusive _Ezekiel nerdus_!" Chris grinned. "Turns out that our little freak of nature, Ezekiel, has managed to elude my grasp once more and is hiding out on the island." Chris explained. "Also, you have my complete permission to hurt him as much as you want." he added before his pocket buzzed and he whipped out his cell phone.

"Yello?" Chris recited. "Hhh-mmm. Are you sure? Ugh, fine." Chris sighed with annoyance as he hung up. "Legal says you have to bring Zeke back unharmed as well. Apparently it's 'child abuse' or something like that."

"Are you sure he even qualifies as a child?" Maurananei quirked up an eyebrow. "Or even a human?"

"I dunno. I just do what the lawyers tell me." Chris shrugged. "Most of the time anyway. Now, get on with it!" he frowned.

Alan gulped and reached a trembling hand into the hat before pulling out a card and nearly fainting. "A Komodo dragon? You want me to find a Komodo dragon!?"

"Cool, right?" Chris grinned.

"Yeah, if cool means that you'll probably get your pants sued off for smuggling one of the world's most endangered reptiles out of its natural habitat." Zelda glared at the host.

"If anyone asks, it was Chef's idea!" Chris said quickly before tossing the hat at Anuok and running off as fast as he could. "You have six hours! First one back with their animal gets to bring a contestant of their choice into the hangout of Awesomeness! Last one back with or without their animal gets sent home! Now go!" he called over his shoulder as he ran back to his luxury trailer; he had a few phone calls to make, and fast.

"I'll help you find your animal if you help me find mine." Paul offered his girlfriend. "Do we have a deal?"

"Did you even have to ask?" Toni smirked before pecking him on the cheek and running off into the woods with Paul on her tail.

"A polar bear, huh?" Trey rubbed his chin, pacing along the ground before sitting down on a rock and plucking a few strings on his guitar to clear his thoughts. "Well polar bears live in cold places, so Chris would naturally place it somewhere cold."

"You would correct, Trey." a high, squeaky voice smiled. Trey glanced behind him and fell off his rock as he yelped; the small girl with platinum blonde locks and light teal eyes giggled slightly as a smile crept across her pale skin. "Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you."

"No problem." Trey chcukled, climbing to his feet and towering over the girl. "Are you a new contestant?" he asked.

"No, I was a previous contestant on this dreaded show for their fourth season." the girl replied. "I demanded to be brought back so that I could oversee the well being of all the helpless creatures Chris uses in his awful challenges."

"Hmmm. What was your name again?" he wondered to himself. "Dusk? Twilight?" he listed.

The girl giggled again. "No, my name is-"

"DAWN!" Alan practically screamed as he rushed over to the moonchild and shook her hand rapidly. "I can't believe it's really you!"

Dawn smiled as she grabbed Alan's hand in her other and stopped the jerking movement. "Hello, Alan. And yes, it really is me." she replied.

"What are you doing here?" Alan wondered.

"I am watching over the well being of all the innocent children of Mother Nature Chris insists on using in this awful challenge." Dawn replied.

"Do you . . . do you think you can help me catch my animal?" Alan asked.

"A Komodo dragon, right?" Dawn hummed.

Alan nodded eagerly.

"I would love to help you, Alan, I really would, but Chris has forbidden me from helping any of you in your challenge," Dawn apologized. "I am merely here to make sure he does not break any laws and that the creatures he uses are kept in perfect conditions until they can be returned home."

_**Confessional**_

"That's what I like about Dawn," Alan smiled. "Even when she's apologizing, she's nice and gentle. And the way she cares for animals is so endearing." he sighed.

_**Change Confessional**_

"I know Alan has a crush on me," Dawn smiled. "His aura always gets a wonderful shade of pink whenever I'm around him. I'd hare to crush his dreams though; I'm not really looking for a companion in helping Mother Nature right now. I'd crush Zelda and Maurananei." she added with a small smile.

_**End Confessional**_

Alan pouted for a moment but immediately brightened up and waved good-bye to Dawn before running into the forest, his mind not entirely on the fact that he was hunting down the world's largest and most poisonous lizard with nothing more than his bare hands.

"Well, it's been nice meeting you, Dawn," Trey gave her a two-fingered salute. "I'll see you around."

"Farewell, Trey." Dawn waved good-bye. "Just don't let your fillings for Mortisha cloud your judgment!"

"Wait, what?" Trey whirled around.

"Nothing." Dawn smiled innocently; Trey starred at her for a few more seconds before shrugging and stomping off through the bushes, wondering whether he should have brought something warmer to wear.

Dawn felt a slight tapping on her shoulder and turned to see Anuok standing there with a kind smile. "Hello, Anuok. Long time, no see, hmm?"

Anuok nodded and scribbled something down on her notepad before showing it to Dawn.

"I haven't seen you in my dreams for a while?" she read. "Yes, I suppose that is my fault." Dawn apologized. "I have been rather busy and haven't had a chance to do my usual rounds."

Anuok nodded and stuffed the notepad back into her pocket. "Good luck finding Sasquatchanakwa." Dawn waved good-bye as the rest of the contestants took their leave to various parts of the island, leaving Dawn all alone to meditate on Trey's rock.

* * *

><p>"If I were a lion, where I be?" Paul wondered as he walked along a deer trail through the thick woods, holding back branches for Toni as the two made their way through some tall grass.<p>

"Ideally, some place where you could doze off in the sun." Toni remarked. "That, or somewhere close to its natural habitat."

"Do you ever come across lions in Nigeria?" Paul wondered as he scaled a tree and looked out over the island.

"Not often," Toni replied. "Has it ever actually occurred to you how you might actually catch your lion?"

"Not really." Paul admitted. "I was hoping you might have an idea. What motivates a lion in the first place. Because, just for the record, I am not in the mood to die."

"I wouldn't want to see you die either." Toni smiled. "As for your lion problem, either food, a rival lion, or a lioness in heat. And let me make it clear that there is no one way I am going to turn into a lioness. That is a privilege I am saving for you." she added with a smirk upon seeing Paul's red face.

"S-so we're left with bait." Paul hummed. "Any chance you'd be willing to turn into a zebra or something and lure it back to Dawn?"

"That's a little much to ask." Toni frowned.

"Sorry." Paul apologized as he swung down from the tree.

"I didn't say no." Toni smirked as she helped Paul to his feet and hugged him tight, kissing him on the cheek. "I'll do it on the condition that you take me with you to the Hangout of Awesomeness should you be the first one back."

"I was planning to anyway." Paul grinned. "Now lets find me a lion!"

* * *

><p>Maurananei leaped through the trees with the skill of a monkey, jumping from branch to branch with ease. She had stuck leaves to her arms and clothes, and constructed a makeshift hat out of twigs and grass to camouflage herself from her prey; that, and she just thought it'd make her look cool, especially since she painted tear lines under her eyes to set the mood just right. Her quarry was crafty, she had to hand that to him. She had been tracking him for a half hour at least, and she hadn't found any sign of him at all.<p>

"You'd think it would be easy to find an animal the size of a dinosaur." Maurananei grumbled under her breath as she clambered up to the top of a large oak tree with thick roots and burst through the canopy. All she could see for miles was the bright green canopy that was occasionally pockmarked by clears of varying sizes; there was no sign of any monster plant in any direction whatsoever.

"He's crafty, I'll give him that." Maurananei mumbled to herself before a slight rustling overhead caught her attention. She looked up just in time for a figure to slam into her, sending the both of them falling through a few branches before they crashed into a sturdy with a painful _whack!_

"What the- you again!?" Maurananei screeched like a harpy.

Pinning her to the branch with his shoulders trapping her shoulders and arms, his opposable feet curled around her ankles, and a considerable amount of corrosive saliva dripping from his jaws was Ezekiel; his greasy strands of hair were just barely touching her head as the little freak of nature starred at her with an ever familiar look that sent shivers down Maurananei's spine. "Get off me, you hobgoblin!" she roared, shoving Ezekiel off of her and farther down the branch.

Ezekiel snarled and stalked closer, a creepy smile on his face as he never stole her eyes away from her. Maurananei gulped nervously and started to back away along the branch for every step he took, never tearing her gaze away from him for fear of being caught of guard. "Um, can I help you with anything?" she asked.

As if he had read her mind and deliberately chose to do the one thing she didn't want to, he puckered his lips and made a series of kissing noises; Maurananei gagged and tried to hold down her breakfast. "Uh, yeah, about that? I don't think you're my type." she scratched the back of her head nervously. "I think we should see other people."

"RAAAAAGGH!" Ezekiel squealed, launching him at Maurananei; she ducked just in time, letting the little hobgoblin sail over her head and crash into the tree behind her. With very little time on her hands and a freaky ex-contestant dead set on making her his girlfriend, Maurananei was motivated, in more ways than one, to put the pedal to the metal. She jumped down from the branch and to the ground, pumping her arms vigorously as she sped through the brush; she could just barely hear Ezekiel's enraged bellows from behind her as he swiftly moved through the canopy after her, taking potshots at her with his acidic breath.

Maurananei huffed and puffed, her chest heaving in and out as she ran and came to a large river. With little choice left, she latched onto a nearby vine and swung across the river, just barely making to the other side as Ezekiel exploded from the brush and came to a halting stop at the riverbank. The diminutive mutant glared at Maurananei as she did a small victory dance before he scanned the area for anything that might help him across the river when he caught sight of a branch that just barely stretched out about half away across the river. While Maurananei was too distracted in rubbing her victory in his face, Ezekiel scurried up the tree and out onto the branch before bunching up his legs and launching himself across the stretch of rough water, landing right next to Maurananei on the riverbank, a devious grin on his face.

"Of course." Maurananei frowned before she scooped up a handful of mud and chucked it at Zeke's head, hitting him in the face and giving her a chance to run away.

"You'll never take me alive!" Maurananei wailed.

* * *

><p>"Who's bright idea was it to invent snow!?" Trey griped as loud as he could as he shielded his face from the harsh winds that swept across the snowy peaks of the mountain that he had been forced to climb. In addition to his legs and arms feeling like rods of molten lead, and a numbing, burning sensation that tingled in his hands and feet, he could no longer feel any part of his face whatsoever.<p>

"I'm s-s-s-so c-cold, that I'm sh-shivering!" he chattered to himself.

"I'm s-s-s-so c-cold, that I can use my nose drippings as a pair of ch-chopsticks!" a voice in blizzard responded back.

"I'm s-s-s-so c-cold that . . . I'm shivering!" Trey bit back before he realized what he had just said and who he had said it to. "H-hello? Anyone out there?" he called through the storm; his voice felt small and frail against the howling rage of the snow as it whipped across the mountain and painfully pelted him with its sharp flakes.

"Yoo-hoo! Barney!"

"What the-" Trey started to say before something slammed into him. He shook his head and blinked the snow out of his eyes to see a pair of ruby red orbs starring back at him. With a yelp he quickly sat up and found that the short figure was clinging to him with an iron grip, her pale finger clutching tightly to his shirt and guitar strap. A thick, black cloak enveloped her, hiding most of her small, frail body; Trey found that the parts of him where the cloak covered his body were becoming warm and toasty.

"Miss me, _Barney_?"

"Mortisha!?" Trey blinked.

"The one and only." the pale, creepy girl smiled. "What brings you to my neck of the woods?"

"Your neck of the woods?" Trey repeated, utterly confused. "Since when do you live on Pahkitew Island?"

"I don't!" Mortisha grinned happily. "I just snuck back to annoy Chris!"

"Ah. Well, it's been nice seeing you again, but I have a polar bear to catch." Trey said, climbing to his feet and dusting himself and his guitar off. "See you around, toots." he waved good-bye before trudging forward through the ankle deep snow, shivering as the damp cloth of his jeans slapped against his legs. It was a couple minutes before he realized that he was being followed; he could just barely hear another set of feet pushing their way through the snow behind him.

"Why are you following me?" Trey sighed without even turning around.

"Do you have eyes in the back of your head?" Mortisha wondered. "Because my Uncle Seymore has eyes all over his body and-"

"Answer the question." Trey interrupted without looking at her, focusing on moving forward.

"I wanna help!" Mortisha replied. "It's so boring at home now, and I only get to have fun at the Aftermath's! But those only happen every four episodes, and it takes way too long! Plus, it's fine to irk Chris!"

"Can't argue with that last one." Trey sighed as he stopped and crouched down to the ground. "Get on. As long as you're tagging along, you might as well keep me warm while you're at it."

"Yay!" Mortisha cheered as she jumped onto Trey's back and suddenly spanked his butt, sending him running across the snow drifts as fast as he go as Mortisha would interrupt the roaring winds with cries of "YEE-HAW! GET ALONG, LITTLE DOGGY!"

* * *

><p>Caroline was calmly walking through the woods, her attention shifting to different parts of the forest whenever she heard a loud rustling that usually turned out to be a squirrel or a rabbit, neither of which she was looking for. Any attempts to locate a deer by asking any of the animals she came across were fruitless, as not many had seen any deer as of lately.<p>

_**Confessional**_

"I know it's not their fault, considering they have to spend the majority of their time trying to find food and survive, but you'd think animals would be able to remember things like this." Caroline sighed. "I mean out of everyone in this challenge, me or Toni have the best chance at winning. Although, I'm pretty sure turning into your animal and then turning yourself in is against the rules."

_**Change Confessional**_

"With everyone split up, this allows me to spend time messing with them and ensuring that they won't win this challenge." Serphonus grinned maliciously. "The one person that stands between me and victory is Toni; I just have to get rid of her without getting mauled." he mused.

_**Change Confessional**_

"Yeah! Mortisha's back in the game!" Mortisha cheered happily. "I bet you were expecting Micheal, weren't cha!? Well guess what? My creator won't allow it!" she added. "People think I'm crazy for believing that we were created by some omnipotent being or other for their amusement! Hah! They don't know the truth! Only I do! Well, me and Izzy, but we're the only ones!" Mortisha cried. "Well, maybe Dawn knows too. I dunno. I'll have to ask her."

_**End Confessional**_

Caroline was about to ask a crow if it had seen any sign of any deer at all when a loud scream made her jump nearly three feet into the air; the brush in front of her suddenly exploded into a cloud of leaves as Maurananei came charging out at top speed with a slobbering Ezekiel but a few seconds behind her, loud snarls and longer strands of drool escaping his jaws

"Help! Someone, anyone, get him anyway from me!" Maurananei screamed as she reached down while running and chucked a stick at Zeke's head, missing by just an inch or so.

Caroline didn't know what made her do it. She didn't know what made her suddenly chase after the mad, feral Ezekiel and her friend. Maybe it was an impulse, and maybe it was just an instinct to protect a fellow person from harm. Or maybe she simply wanted to punch Ezekiel again. Whatever the reason, Caroline suddenly dashed after Ezekiel, her arms pumping up and down as her feet crushed twigs and dry leaves underfoot, her chest heaving in and out as sweat dripped down her face. Branches slapped at her arms and legs as she ran through the forest, her focus locking entirely on the snarling, growling figure in front of her.

She had once talked to some of the animals at her local zoo, curious as to what their lives were like; naturally, some people thought she was insane while others thought she was simply trying to hold onto her childhood dreams before being thrust into the real world. Ignoring the visitors, the animals had responded with mostly bored answers, either complaining that they weren't given enough of their favorite food or griping about who they were housed with; Caroline actually had to act as a wedding counselor of sorts for a pair of gibbons and a trio of river otters that liked to stay up late. So far, she hadn't really been impressed with what the animals had told her until she had stopped to talk to the zoo's pair of cheetahs. While the big cats were somewhat lazy, they were kind enough and told her stories of their lives in the wild before they had been captured as pets before being shipped to the zoo. Caroline found this interesting, as most of the animals in the zoo were bred in captivity and thus had no real knowledge of the outside.

The cheetahs had created a vivid image of what a hunt had been like before they were confined to a spacious exhibit that let them hunt a fake rabbit on a race track every other day of the week. She would numbly feel her subconscious tapping into those memories, the words of the cheetahs as they described the thrill of the hunt filled her mind. She could smell the rotting, earthy stench of her prey, hear his sharp, ragged breaths as he ran, feel the adrenaline pump through her circulatory system as she pushed herself forward and quickly caught up with Ezekiel. With a low, guttural roar that startled even her, she lunged forward and swiped Ezekiel's legs out from under him with a quick movement of her arm; the little mutant went rolling and tumbling through the brush before slamming into the trunk of a tree.

Caroline came to a screeching halt, kicking up a small cloud of leaves as she caught her breath and made as stern of eye contact as she could with Ezekiel. The ex-contestant growled something incomprehensible even to her and staggered to his feet, stalking forward a few steps before giving a savage roar and lunging forward, claws raised; Caroline flinched, expecting to be hit when a loud _twang! _caught her attention and she looked up to see Ezekiel's right ankle trapped in the cord of a loop trap that dangled him from the air, helpless.

"And you can stay there until Zelda finds you, you . . . mean person!" Caroline yelled, jamming a finger at Ezekiel as he snapped his jaws at her.

"Is that . . . is that the best insult you can . . . can come up with?" Maurananei gasped as she staggered through the brush, utterly exhausted as she tried to catch her breath.

"Well, what would you say?" Caroline wondered.

"Several words that no person should ever say on public television," she replied. "And those same words would probably scar you for life."

"That's . . . comforting?" Caroline flinched.

" I guess." Maurananei sighed. "Either way, I owe you big time for getting that little freak off of me.

Ezekiel snarled and struggling in the air to no avail.

"Yeah, I meant what I said, you little **BEEP!**" Maurananei yelled, jamming a finger at him; Ezekiel immediately shut up. "Seriously. I owe you one." she added.

Caroline bit her lip. "Well . . . there is one thing I could use help with."

Maurananei grinned. "Name it."

"A-are you sure? I don't wanna bother you during a challenge . . ." Caroline stammered as Maurananei put a kind hand on her shoulder.

"I promise I'll help you, whatever it is." she reassured Caroline. "We're friends, and friends help friends through thick and thin."

"Alright." Caroline nodded. "I'm having trouble tracking down a deer. None of the animals I've talked to have seen any lately."

"A deer, huh?" Maurananei put her hands on her hips. "Compared to the other things I've had to track down, a deer will be a piece of cake."

_**Confessional**_

"I meant what I said to Caroline," Maurananei declared firmly. "She's pretty much like a younger sister to me, and I hate to see her said. Which means I will gladly avenge Micheal by making Chris's life miserable if it will make Caroline happy.

_**End Confessional**_

* * *

><p>"Attention, contestants!" Chris's loud voice rang out over the island. "As a warning, I <em>may <em>have forgotten to tell you to watch out for booby traps! I _really _went to town with them!"

"Now he tells us." Alan grumbled as he rubbed his sore head; he had been walking through the woods, minding his own business as he searched for places a gigantic lizard might find appealing when he suddenly stumbled over a trip wire and landed in an open mud puddle before a sack of sand was dropped onto his head and neck, knocking him out for a few, painful minutes. When he had awoken, a woodpecker had been attempting to drill into his skull before swatted it away and managed to get the bag of sand off of him.

"Come on, you big, ugly, lizard, where are you?" Alan muttered under his breath as he pushed aside a group of bushes.

"There is no need to be rude, simply because you are not having as much luck as the others." a familiar, feminine voice said.

Alan jerked his head up to see Dawn sitting cross-legged on a branch above him. "I sense you are emotionally disturbed, Alan. Care to talk about it?" Dawn asked.

"Shouldn't you be back at the start waiting for the others or something?" Alan wondered.

"They won't arrive for a couple more hours." Dawn smiled. "We have plenty of time." she reassured him as she daintily jumped down from the tree limb and landed on the ground without a sound.

Alan sighed and pushed onwards, talking as Dawn seemed to float alongside him; Alan found that, as hard as he tried, he couldn't prove it. "I guess I'm just lonely." he shrugged. "I mean, what are the odds that you'll just suddenly fall all over me at the last second? And the other girls here are either already taken or think I'm too much of a pervert to even talk to."

Dawn saddened a bit. "While it is true I am not looking for a companion in life, I can assure that you will find in happiness in life," she told him. "Sooner than you think even."

"What's that supposed to-" Alan started before he realized that Dawn was no longer beside him; there was no sign of her where she could possibly gone, no trail, no broken branches, absolutely nothing to track her location. Alan sighed and continued to make his way through the brush before he came out into a somewhat dusty clearing dotted by large stones and rocks; wiping sweat from his brow, Alan sat down on one of the rocks to take a rest, leaning back and setting his head on a ledge.

It was then that a loud hissing sound met his attention as the ledge underneath his head started to slide to the side, the rough surface rubbing uncomfortably against his skin. Alan sat up to see what the heck was going on when his blood ran cold; lying in front of him was a massive lizard, a hungry look on its face. Alan couldn't help but trace his eyes over the Komodo dragon's right foot length and seven hundred pound weight, the wicked claws scrapping loudly against the rock as the lizard slowly crawled off the rock and plopped down into the dust. It starred at Alan with its soulless, intelligent, black eyes and flicked out its bright, yellow tongue before it seemed to yawn, opening its jaws to reveal a row of saw-like teeth and dozens of thick, gooey strands of saliva connecting the two jaws, a putrid stench wafting through the air that made Alan want to drop dead if only to get away from it; Alan didn't know much about Komodo dragons, but he figured getting bitten by something with that bad of breath would not be a pleasant experience.

"N-nice, d-d-dragon." Alan trembled as he backed up; for every step he took backwards, the Komodo dragon took another step forward, lifting it's entire bulk off the ground and slowly sampling the air with its long, forked tongue. Alan had seen Komodo dragons on a few nature documentaries before, but back then, they seemed far smaller than now; this one was far more impressive and far more frightening than when he had the safety of the TV screen to protect him from the huge lizard. He was so busy trying to keep distance between the Komodo dragon and himself that he barely even noticd when his foot stepped on a small stone in the ground, shoving it down with a loud clanking sound.

"Uh, oh! Some triggered a boo-boo!" Chris's teasing voice rang over the speakers as the ground began to tremble and rumble, as if an earthquake had suddenly struck the island.

"What's happening!?" Alan managed to scream as he attempted to stay standing; the Komodo dragon seemed equally confused and frightened, flicking its forked tongue out as it lumbered over to Alan and curled its tail around his trembling legs, as if to keep him upright.

The rumbling and trembling got louder and louder as the brush and forest in front of Alan and the Komodo dragon suddenly exploded into a shower of leaves, twigs, and splinters to reveal a massive herd of snorting rhinos; whether the nearly three dozen animals were robots or actual rhinos was up to debate, but Alan was pretty sure that getting hit and run over by either one of the two was going to hurt incredibly, regardless of whether they were made of metal and wiring or flesh and bone.

"Truce?" Alan spoke to the Komodo dragon. The large lizard blinked its eyes for a second before hissing and nodding its head, quickly climbing up onto Alan's back and digging its claws into his shirt and jeans, attempting to avoid putting its claws into ts ride's vulnerable skin as Alan gave an almighty scream and ran away as fast as he could with the herd of rhinos right on top of him.

* * *

><p>"Are you sure this'll work?" Paul asked as he fiddled with the long vine in his hand and the large ham they had stolen from Chef's kitchen when he wasn't looking; really, Paul had distracted him while Toni made off with the meat, dodging swipes of the angry cook's frying pan, rolling pin, and spatula.<p>

"Trust me." Toni reassured him. "Now give me a second to change." she added as she concentrated on an image in her head. A light coat of fur sprouted all over her body, remaining the same mocha brown color as her skin as her arms were sucked back into her shoulders like pieces of spaghetti, leaving her hands to be perked on her shoulders, frozen like that as other changes continued. Her black hair ran down her neck and between her shoulder blades like river as her face bulged outwards into a pointed, rounded muzzle. Her teeth became square and flat, perfect for grinding up plant material as her eyes rotated to either side of her head. Her ears migrated up to the top of her head and became pointed as muscled built themselves up around her chest. A pair of equestrian legs suddenly burst out of her gut like some alien nightmare as her hand finally slithered into her shoulders that moved down toa bove her new legs with a grinding sound. Her toes fused together into a single toe, a hard covering surrounding her changed feet, forming a solid hoof as her clothes vanished off her body. Her new form ground and shifted into its final state as a tail made entirely of long, black hairs sprouted out from the base of her spine.

"So, I just hang on an hope he doesn't catch us?" Paul asked as he hefted himself up onto the horse's back; the chocolate brown mare snorted and tossed her head as she clopped off through the woods, her ears rotating every few seconds to catch the slightest bit of sound that might mean trouble. Toni had previously soared over the island had not seen any sign of a lion with her laser-like hawk eyes, although she did see a rather large swamp that had the potential of being the lair of her quarry. A sudden rustling noise caught her attention and she looked out of the corner of her eye to see a stand of tall grass quivering back and forth in the shadows of the forest; she felt Paul tense up on her back as she froze on the spot, tensing her muscles to run.

A loud roar met her ears as the lion erupted out of the brush, claws pushed out and ready to dig into her flesh as she reared and galloped off as fast as she could with Paul tossing the meat behind him to keep the lion chasing after them. The big cat was far bigger than he imagined with teeth like railroad spikes as paws as big as dinner plates with claws as sharp as daggers. "Run!" Paul screamed as the lion lunged at the ham and nearly caught it in its jaws before he managed to yank it out of harm's way.

The lion snarled and ran faster raking the air with its claws as it made another move for the hunk of ham tied to the vine. Again, Paul pulled out of the way at the last second, occasionally taunting and teasing it just to make sure it didn't lose interest. "Your mother was a hyena!" he yelled. The lion's eyes widened considerably before it let out an earth shattering roar and raced after Paul and Toni even faster if that was possible, murder in its eyes as it managed to inch past the dangling piece of meat and edge closer and closer to the fleeing horse.

"AGH! Toni! Run faster! He wants to use me as a chew toy after he uses my bones as a tooth pick!" Paul wailed as he jammed his heel into the horse's side and forced her to move faster. The lion growled and lunged once more, managing to latch onto Toni's backside with its razor sharp claws, eliciting a terrified whinny from the horse as the lion struggled to hang onto the moving animal while Paul beat it over the head with the stolen ham.

Just when it seemed that the lion would have its way with Paul before finishing Toni off for a desert, a loud rumbling sound caught their attention and the three of them took a quick glance behind them to see a terrified Alan with an equally scared Komodo dragon on his back as a herd of enormous rhinos thundered through the forest after them, obliterating every thing in front of them.

"RUN FASTER!" Paul screamed as the lion growled an agreement and scrabbled further onto Toni's back, forgetting its feud with Paul for the moment as Alan with his lizard struggled to catch with them.

"Help! We need a lift!" he cried.

"What do you think, should we help them?" he asked Toni. "I mean, you are our get away vehicle, er, horse."

Toni snorted and tossed her head as Paul shrugged and twirled the tied up ham over his head like a lasso before throwing it at Alan and succeeding in looping it around his and the Komodo dragon's waist; the pair were drug along the ground for a few yards before Paul pulled them up onto Toni's back, shifting himself a little to allow more room as Toni started to slow down, allowing the rhino's to edge closer and closer to them. "I hate to be a stickler, Toni, but is there anyway you can go faster!?" Paul shrieked.

_**Confessional**_

"Look, if you were in _my _situation, sounding manly would be the least of your problems, alright?" Paul frowned.

_**End Confessional**_

If horses could roll their eyes, Toni would have as she took a sharp detour and dove into the brush as the rhinos rushed past before stopping, snorting and pawing the ground as they deliberately searched for the missing campers and animals. Toni demorphed in a fluid motion before concentrating on another image in her head and disappeared into a whirl of body parts and bones before emerging as a full grown elephant and wrapping her trunk around Paul's waist, lifting him up onto her back as the lion, Komodo dragon, and Alan scrambled on after him as Toni bellowed and rushed out of the brush; the rhinos snorted and charged right after her, their numbers far too great for Toni to take on once.

"Run! Run like the wind!" Paul screamed as the rhino's ran after them.

* * *

><p>"This is the most boring thing I have done in my life." Mitchell frowned as he sat on the end of the dock with an old fishing rod in hand; he had been sitting there on the pier for roughly two hours without a single bite of any kind to show for it. He was bored out of his mind as the waves gently lapped up against the wooden poles of the dock, bobbing the lure up and down in a placid pattern that slowly lulled Mitchell into a sleepy daze. He was almost half asleep before a loud roar caught his attention and he turned to see Trey come jogging out of the forest with a billowing, black cloak on his shoulders; following closer behind him with a hungry look on its face was a polar bear with what seemed to be Mortisha on its back, whooping happily as she rode the bear like a bucking bronco.<p>

"AAAAAAAAAGH!" Trey screamed as he suddenly slammed into Mitchell and sent the both of them tumbling into the water as the polar bear dove after them, swiping at them with its claws as they quickly swam for the surface and back to shore.

"What did you do to make him so angry!?" Mitchell wondered as he ran.

"I didn't do anything!" Trey protested as the polar bear chased after them. "I just happen to look delicious!"

"So why is he chasing me!?" Mitchell cried.

"I think he thinks your delicious too!" Trey yelled. "No shut up and keep running!"

Mitchell found that he could argue with that logic as they ran along the beach with the polar bear in hot pursuit, gnashing its teeth hungrily as Mortisha whooped and hollered with joy. Just when it seemed the two boys might have managed to elude the hungry carnivore, the forest in front of them exploded an African elephant came thundering out onto the beach and turned in their direction, trumpeting in panic as it rushed at them and scooped them up in its trunk, dumping them on its back as it thundered down the beach.

"What the-" Mitchell started before he noticed that their other passengers were Paul, Alan, a lion, Komodo dragon. He also managed to notice the herd of angry, charging rhinos right behind them.

"Do I want to know?" Trey asked Paul.

"Probably not," Paul shrugged. "Do you want us to pick up your friends?" he wondered.

"Well, if it's not too much trouble." Trey shrugged as the polar bear paused upon seeing the strange scene before it scrambled to turn around as fast it could; Toni slammed into the carnivore before it could do that, the bear clinging to her tusks as she ran, just barely able to see past the animal's white fur as they ran.

"I'm normally not one to remain calm in these situations, but this is by far the strangest thing I have ever been involved in." Trey wiped his brow.

"YEE-HAW! This is the best day ever!" Mortisha whooped as they continued to flee the enraged herd.

* * *

><p>"A-are you sure this'll work?" Caroline asked as Maurananei carried her through the forest on her back.<p>

"Positive." Maurananei nodded her head as she came to a stop and easily lifted Caroline off of her shoulders and down to the ground. "All you gotta do is follow this deer trail for a while. You'll find your deer somewhere along there."

"Y-you aren't c-coming with me?" Caroline sounded frightened.

"Wish I could, but I have to find Larry before the challenge ends in order for me to stay in the game to help you." Maurananei replied as she shook her head.

"Th-that makes sense." Caroline nodded.

Maurananei smiled. "I'll see you at the end of the challenge. Besides, it's just a deer. How hard it could it be for 'Caroline of the Jungle'?" she joked before giving her friend one last hug and leaving her alone along the deer trail. Maurananei knew Caroline could handle herself in the wild, surrounded by the wild animals and poisonous plants; it was around other people and in the city that she was uncomfortable with. Due to several quiet confessionals with each other, Maurananei knew Caroline's slight phobia of people came from the constant verbal abuse of her classmates and girl scout troop, as well as the constant labor she had to perform for her lazy parents.

A small smile came to Maurananei's face; if anyone could help straighten Caroline's life, it would be her boyfriend Micheal. And if her parents didn't approve of their relationship, Micheal had ways of persuasion.

_**Confessional**_

"I really do hope Caroline makes it past this challenge," Maurananei said. "She's really nice and sweet. It's easy to see why Micheal likes her; if I wasn't straight, I might actually make her my own girlfriend." she grinned before realizing what she had just said. "Does that sound wrong?"

_**End Confessional**_

As Maurananei pushed her way through the brush, she heard several minor curses that would have made most swearers like herself double over in laughter. She peeked over a large rock to see Zelda struggling in a pit of mud; Maurananei debated whether she should help Zelda out of the muck or leave her to her own struggle.

_**Confessional**_

Maurananei tapped her chin in thought. "On one hand, I help Zelda and possibly gain an ally, helping her win the challenge and save her for a later elimination," she mused. "On the other hand, I could leave her to struggle and let her get eliminated tonight, thus leaving me vulnerable at a later date." Maurananei weighed her options before sighing. "I'm only helping the traitor to save my skin at a later time, should I somehow fail."

_**End Confessional**_

"Need a hand?" Maurananei spoke up as she climbed up and over the rock and out into view. Zelda startled slightly before she realized who was talking.

"R-really? Your offering to help me?" she wondered.

"Hey, we all can't stay mad at you forever." Maurananei shrugged as she grabbed hold of Zelda's hand and effortlessly hauled her out of the muck with a loud, slurping noise. "Have any luck finding Ezekiel?" she wondered.

"No," Zelda sighed. "He's one tough **BEEP!**" she cursed under her breath.

Maurananei tapped her chin in mock thought. "Well, me and Caroline actually ran into Ezekiel early today. Caught him in a loop trap about a dozen or so yards East of here," she recalled. "He might still be there."

"Thanks!" Zelda practically squealed before hugging Maurananei in a somewhat awkward and speeding off to gather her quarry.

"Now if I could only find _my _prey." she mumbled to herself before an odd scent caught her attention. It was an alluring scent that was a combination of chocolate and sweet, fresh fruit with a hint of tropical breeze. Curious, Maurananei followed the smell through the woods, taking to the trees after a while and swinging from tree branch to tree branch effortlessly as the environment around her began to change, the trees becoming more low to the ground and the air becoming more hot and muggy as she touched down in the middle of a large swamp. Mosquitoes filled the air, nearly spilling into Maurananei's lungs as she trudged through the muck and mud of the swamp, following the sweet scent when she wasn't trying to keep the bugs out of her respiratory system.

Eventually, she came to a small island in the middle of the bog where a large flower about as big as a basketball sprouted out the center, surrounded by jagged, teeth-like rocks. "Huh. It's just a flower." Maurananei scratched her head; a small bird landed on one of the rocks and tweeted happily before hopping down to the ground and pecking the ground. The little bird tweeted again and landed on the large, firm flower, sipping some of the sweet nectar. Before the bird could even twitch, a pair of massive jaws snapped shut around it, swallowing it alive in a cloud of feathers and startling Maurananei.

"Ah-HA! There you are!" she cheered as Larry swallowed its meal and settled back down, its jaws opening wide once more and the large flower popped back up into place. Cracking her knuckles, Maurananei screamed a battle cry and lunged at the flower, grabbing it tightly as the massive jaws closed around her. With a broad grin, Maurananei let go of the flower as it slithered down Larry's throat and swiftly kicked one of Larry's teeth. The inside of the mutant plant's mouth rumbled a bit as Larry growled a warning, but Maurananei didn't stop fighting against the muscles that were trying to force her down its gullet. She swiftly grabbed hold of his tongue, shuddered for a few seconds before viciously biting the wet organ she was standing on.

_**Confessional**_

"Can I just say that I have some pretty sharp teeth?" Maurananei wondered. "Doctors really can't explain it, but when I want to, I can bite through a whole soup can." she grinned before tapping her chin worriedly. "Is it wrong that I actually kinda wanna kiss Larry again?" she wondered.

_**Change Confessional**_

"So I'm wandering through the forest, looking for this big, hairy ape, when I come across an elephant with Paul, Alan, Trey, Mitchell, Mortisha, a polar bear, lion, and Komodo dragon on her back being chased by this massive herd of rhinos," Serphonus summed up, a devious smirk coming across his face. "Now I could have messed with the rhinos, made them bigger, faster, or even breath fire, but the others were pretty well distracted. Meanwhile, I'm stuck looking for an oversized monkey."

_**End Confessional**_

Larry roared in agony, allowing Maurananei to jump out of the Larry's mouth, grab hold of his upper lip, and swing herself up onto his head where she viciously bit him again. The mutant plant screeched as the ground beneath it rumbled and shook, the earth cracking and splitting as Larry pulled himself out by the roots and rose up into the air, roaring loudly as it snapped its roots and vines in an attempt to swipe the annoying pest on it. Maurananei ducked under a sweeping tentacle before slugging another one that came at her and then biting yet another vine with her teeth. Larry howled in agony as he began to run madly, Maurananei grabbing the tips of two vines and yanking back on them as hard as she could, steering Larry in the way she wanted to go, grinning madly as they stormed through the trees in the direction of the beach.

It was then that a shrill scream came to her attention and Maurananei glanced downwards to see Caroline running as fast as her legs could carry her, her legs little less than a blur as she tried to avoid being crushed underroot by Larry. With a loud grunt, Maurananei raised up her foot and drove her heel into Larry's head, forcing Larry to lash down with a root and scoop a terrified Caroline up and to her jaws. Maurananei gasped and buried her foot deeper into Larry's head, forcing him to stop.

"No! Bad, Larry! Bad!" Maurananei scolded the gigantic plant. "We don't eat our friends!"

Larry whimpered and politely set Caroline down on his head next to Maurananei before stomping forward for fear of more pain. "You okay?" Maurananei asked Caroline as she steered Larry along.

"Y-yeah." Caroline stammered, slightly shaken up. "I see you found Larry."

"Yep." Maurananei grinned. "You find a deer yet?"

"No." Caroline sighed.

"I think I can help with that." Maurananei smirked as she yanked back on Larry's roots and made him halt in his tracks. She then stomped her other foot into Larry's head and tapped her toe three times; Larry growled and thrust a vine down into the thick forest, rummaging around for a bit before pulling his vine back out with a terrified buck in his clutches; the mutant plant was about to shove the poor animal into its gaping jaws before Maurananei raised her foot up again and Larry halted.

"Good, Larry." Maurananei cooed. "Now bring the deer up here, and I'll make sure you get a good treat." she purred. Larry yipped happily and passed the deer up to his head where Caroline took control and began the somewhat long process of calming it down as Maurananei snapped the vines like a pair of reins and drove Larry back towards the beach.

_**Confessional**_

"I've heard the rewards of a pet are well earned," Maurananei grinned. "And now, I can say that it's true. I wonder if they make dog collars in Larry's size. Or if my Dad will let me keep him. Or if Chris will let me take his plant away. Or if . . ."

_**End Confessional**_

* * *

><p>Dawn sat on the edge of the dock with her eyes closed, her legs folded up into a lotus position as she meditated. The air was cool and crisp and stung her lungs with the fresh scent of sweet flowers. Song birds tweeted happily in the distance, and the cool breeze gently whipped through her platinum blonde locks. She wondered why no one else could be as peaceful as she was feeling right now.<p>

A low rumbling caught her attention and she cracked open her eyes open to see an African elephant stampeding across the beach at her with Paul, Alan, Trey, and Mitchell on its back with a terrified lion, Komodo dragon, polar bear, and an overexcited Mortisha clinging on for dear life. An even bigger thundering caught her attention and she turned to see Larry storming through the woods, bellowing loudly as Maurananei whooped with joy and Caroline and a jittery deer clung on as hard as they could as Zelda riding on Ezekiel's back came rushing out of the underbrush, drool flying everywhere as the diminutive mutant tried to shake its passenger.

Now she knew why everyone was so high strung.

Dawn didn't flinch as the three groups rushed at her, each trying to get there before the first as Toni thundered across the beach and swung her trunk, sending Ezekiel and Zelda flying into Larry's face, blinding his sensory organs. Unable to see, the gigantic plant tripped over the elephant and her passengers and sent the both of them flying, the three groups tangled up in a mess of arms, legs, tails, teeth, claws, trunks, and roots as they skidded along the ground and stopped a mere foot away from Dawn; she hadn't moved in the slightest.

"I did it!" Trey groaned as he pulled himself lose from the pile and collapsed at Dawn's feet where the polar bear had ended up in the scuffle. "I won!"

"I hate to disappoint you, Trey, but Anuok got here a _long _time ago with her animal." Dawn told him, nodding with a smile towards Anuok and the Sasquatchanakwa as they sat around a large stump and had tea; Anuok gave a friendly wave as she poured the large ape a drink.

_**Confessional**_

"Wow." Trey gaped. "That's all I can say."

_**Change Confessionals**_

"So me and Caroline didn't win." Maurananei shrugged. "At the very least, neither of us will get eliminated. And as an added bonus, I got a new pet too!"

_**End Confessionals**_

"Whose a good boy? Whose a good boy? Yes, you are! Yes, you are!" Maurananei cooed as she scratched Larry under the chin, ignoring the happy plant's strange behavior as it stomped its foot. The others watched the spectacle for a few seconds before turning back to Dawn as Chris approached the dock, his ever familiar grin on his face.

"And today's winner is Anuok!" Chris announced. "So, who'll be joining you in the Hangout of Awesomeness?" Anuok scribbled something down on her notepad and showed it to the Sasquatchanakwa, the large ape chuckling before Anuok handed the notepad to Chris to read.

"Ugh, fine." he grumbled. "Anuok has opted to let Toni and Paul have the prize instead of her," he announced. "This also technically saves Toni from elimination, which means it's down to Mitchell and Wilson tonight, people!" he added before noticing Maurananei and Larry. "Hey! Get away from my plant, freak!" he yelled. Larry let out a loud growl and showed a cage of teeth at his former master, who decided it was best not to anger his former pet any further.

"Aw, thanks, Anuok!" Toni cried happily once she was back in her human form, hugging her friend tightly as Paul gave her a thumbs up.

_**Confessional**_

Anuok shrugged and blew on her nails with a smirk on her face.

_**End Confessional**_

* * *

><p>The campfire crackled quietly as the stars shone brightly overhead, the large, round moon glowing in the night sky; a wolf howled in the distance as the wind rippled across the sky and made the flames hiss and dance as the campers sat around the bonfire, anxious looks on their faces.<p>

"You've all cast your votes," Chris began. "Anuok, Alan, Trey, Maurananei, Toni, Paul, Zelda, and Caroline, you're all safe for tonight." Chris announced as the contestants grabbed their respective marshmallows; Larry grabbed Maurananei's marshmallow with a vine and hand it to his master as she sat on his head.

Chris frowned at the sight, but ignored it when it came down to Mitchell and Wilson. "You both failed to catch any of your animals at all. In fact, neither of you came even close." he added with a sick grin. Mitchell gulped as Wilson nervously bit his fingernails.

_**Confessional**_

"There are those of us with, and without super powers," Paul said, leaning against the outhouse door. "So far, Wilson hasn't shown any sign of any power whatsoever. Making him the more desirable of the two to compete against."

_**Change Confessional**_

"Tonight's vote was really hard," Caroline sighed unhappily. "I really hate to vote for someone I've known since the beginning of the season, but he's a much bigger threat."

_**Change Confessional**_

"Mitchell. End of story." Serphonus frowned.

_**End Confessional**_

"Wilson, you're safe," Chris grinned as he tossed the blonde teen his marshmallow. "Mitchell, Torpedo o' Shame awaits." he quirked his eyebrows up.

Mitchell sighed and got up from the barrel that he had to sit on. "It's cool. I've had my run." he shrugged. "Good luck to you all, and that stuff."

"I am afraid I must intervene," Dawn's voice piped up. "If Mitchell is shot out of the Torpedo of Shame, we will never see him again." she said gravely as she walked up behind Chris.

"So? We live all across Canada," Paul pointed out. "What are the odds that we''ll all see each and every last one of us again?"

"No, I mean we will _never _see him again," Dawn looked really scared. "If Mitchell departs on the Torpedo of Shame, he will not live to see another day."

"So? Who cares?" Chris exclaimed. "With any luck, we'll see his demise on camera!" he chuckled, just barely dodging a ball of fire that exploded at his feet; Mitchell frowned and summoned another ball of hot coals into his fingers. "Alright, alright! Enough with the fire!" Chris yelped.

"So how does he get home?" Alan wondered.

"The safest route would be with me," Dawn replied. "In just a few short minutes, I will be taking the boat back to the mainland with the poor creatures Chris used in today's challenge, along with poor Ezekiel; hopefully I can restore his humanity." she lamented sadly.

"Yeah, what she said." Chris grumbled. "Now leave already! We're on a schedule!"

"So you keep on reminding us." Trey grumbled. "And, on an unrelated note, would you mind getting Mortisha off of me?"

"But why?" Mortisha whined as Trey grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her off of him, fiddling with the clasps of her cloak for a second before handing it to her.

"Because you're not competing anymore," Trey replied as he hauled himself to his feet. "Plus, Chris'll probably send you back on the boat with Dawn."

"Awww." Mortisha pouted. "I was having so much fun!"

"Well, hold onto that feeling until I get booted," Trey smirked as he leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. "I'd like to get to know you some more." he grinned.

"WA-HOO!" Mortisha cheered happily before she grabbed Trey's face and smashed her lips to his; the contestants all cooed and awed as Larry clapped his roots together happily; Chris resisted the urge to throw up his very expensive dinner. With one last hug, Trey sent Mortisha on her way with Dawn trailing behind her, promising to keep her safe until she rejoined the other eliminated contestants at the new Playa des Losers; Mitchell threw Chris another warning glare before firing twin fiery beams of flame from his eyes at the host's feet, a smirk crossing his face when Chris jumped out of the way at the last second.

"Will Trey stay hooked up with his new girl?" Chris began to close up. "Can Paul and Toni stay together through trial and error? And how long will Maurananei and Larry stick together before the later comes crawling back to me?" he wondered as Larry growled loudly until Maurananei started to scratch him under the chin again.

"Find out next time, on Total! Drama! Pahkitew's Vengeance!" Chris declared.

**And there we go!**

I hope you enjoyed the chapter as much as I did writing it. And I hope you all enjoyed Dawn's appearance; she is one of my all-time favorite Total Drama characters, and I was beyond furious when she didn't get picked for All-Stars. I mean, seriously. Just what makes _Sam _and _Sierra _All-Stars is beyond me, considering Owen _won _a season, and Dawn is a bigger favorite than Sam or Sierra. No wonder All-Stars isn't as well liked as the other seasons.

**Okay, I'm done venting right now.**

**As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!**

Hasta Luego!


	15. The Brave and the Cold

**And here we are ladies and gentlemen! Back with yet another chapter of Total Drama: Pahkitew's Vegenace! And since I really have nothing to say, I will now shut up and let you get on with reading the chapter!**

**As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!**

**Onwards!**

"Last time on Total Drama: Pahkitew's Vengeance!" Chris narrated. "After an _unpleasant _surprise, I sent the campers off into the wilderness to capture one of the island's many, vicious inhabitants of the animal variety. And while most of our amature zookeepers succeeded in capturing their various animals, it was Mitchell who was sent packing after he failed to catch his animal; and in unrelated news, I suffered the ultimate betrayal when my _good for nothing pet, Larry, went off with Maurananei_!" Chris yelled angrily.

"But, I am completely over it!" he tried to sound convincing. "This week, we've got an episode so cool, it'll freeze your little toes off! Will Serphonus succeed in whatever diabolicle plan he has? How long will Toni and Paul's love last? And how can Zelda ever possibly regain the trust of everyone she betrayed?" the host listed off. "Find out this week, on Total! Drama! Pahkitew's Vengeance!"

_**(theme song plays)**_

"Who's a good boy, who's a good boy?" Maurananei cooed as she scratched Larry under his chin as the monster plant stomped one of its root-like feet happily while he drooled. "Sit!" Maurananei commanded, halting her scratching and jamming a finger towards the ground; Larry quickly complied, panting happily as Maurananei praised him and tossed him a dead mouse for a treat.

"Good boy!" Maurananei grinned. "So speak!" she ordered.

"RAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAGGGHHHHH!" Larry bellowed loudly, sending all the birds in the surroundings flying away in large clouds; the mutant plant made a move to chase some of them, but quickly sat back down on the ground upon seeing his master give him a warning look; the stern expression first turned into a broad smile as Maurananei threw Larry a rotten fish that he snapped up happily.

"Good boy!" Maurananei praised Larry. "Now, give Mommy a kiss!"

Larry wagged a long root that might have been his tail back and forth as his tongue lolled out of his mouth before he licked the entire length of Maurananei's body with it, drowning her in drool before he let go; Maurananei blinked for a second but shrugged, scratching Larry underneath his massive tongue, a spot he found particularly hard to reach and nearly fell to the ground when the massive plant when limp and slump to the ground, panting happily as his tongue was scratched.

_**Confessional**_

"Larry is just so cute!" Maurananei practically squealed. "I really hope Dad lets me keep him!"

_**End Confessional**_

Maurananei heard a sudden and turned around to see Anuok standing there on a large rock with a towel in hand; the mute careivoiant waved and tossed her the towel, which she gladly accepted as Anuok sat down on the rock in the lotus position, scribbling something down on the notepad as Maurananei wiped herself clean before handing it to her.

"He's not my new boyfriend!" Maurananei scolded Anuok with a slight blush on her face. "He's a plant for crying out loud!" she added before tossing Anuok her notepad back and returning her attention to Larry as she scratched him under his tongue again; it was about a minute or so before Anuok handed her the notepad again.

"Look, I didn't even kiss him! That was just me biting his tongue!" Maurananei defended herself. "And even if I _did _chose Larry as a boyfriend, he'd be a _much _better choice that lying, good for nothing, son of a **BEEP! **Chef Hatchet!" Maurananei snarled, practically screamed before she recomposed herself and handed Anuok her notepad back. "So did you just come here to tease me, or did you have a reason?" she asked. When she wasn't handed an answer, she looked behind her to see the rock empty, with no sign of where Anuok had gone. With a shrug, Maurananei went back to pampering her new pet before she took a quick look around and bent down, kissing the tip of Larry's tongue before giving a shrill whistle and commanding Larry back up to his feet.

_**Confessional**_

"What? My aunt does the same with her cats!" Maurananei defended herself. "Giant, mutant plants, cats, they're all practically the same thing; one of them just happens to be more loyal than the other." she added with a slight laugh.

_**End Confessional**_

* * *

><p>It was just before breakfast when the contestants had been called by none other than the bane of their existence for the time being to make their way down to the docks before they were fed to the cannon with concern; this made the contestants, no matter how groggy, irritated, or cover in slobber they were, hurriedly made their way to the dock and made it there in record time, much to Chris's annoyance.<p>

"So, Maurananei, have fun with your _pet_?" Chris asked irritably.

"Yep! He's so cute!" Maurananei squealed like a little school girl gushing at a puppy, only doing so drive Chris crazy; while the host didn't show it, the obvious eye twitch was more than enough satisfaction for Maurananei as he continued on with his explanation of the days challenge.

"_Anyway, _today will test your survival skills! I'm sure you all remember the Wild West challenge a few episodes ago?" Chris quirked his eyebrows.

"Remember? I'm still picking cactus spines out of my **BEEP!**" Alan whined. "That stupid horse must have thrown me fifteen times!" he added as Caroline giggled a little, as if she knew something the others were only vaguely aware of.

"Fun times, right?" Chris laughed. "This time however, we decided to do a little switching. Chef! My remote!" the host demanded with an open hand. The hulking hash slinger grumbled obscenities under his breath as he stomped down the dock, avoiding Maurananei's glare and rude gestures, and handed Chris a remote with a singe, red button on it.

"How many remotes does he have?" Toni whispered to Paul.

"Dozens." Chris replied. "Each with their own, unique use." he added in a chilling tone as he pressed the button. The ground suddenly started to tremble loudly as if a massive earthquake were taking place underneath their very feet as the island itself began to change; the tall, towering trees were sucked down into the island's mainframe one by one like a choosy diner was selecting which strand of spaghetti to slurp up. The mountain cracked and ground together loudly as boulders tumbled down their slopes and were smoothed down and forced up into the heavens as the clouds started to gather and swirl overhead, the wind picking up as what looked like snow came storming down in enormous flurries that covered the landscape in a blanket of fluffy, white snow; the contestants were not happy in the slightest.

"Today's challenge will be all about arctic survival!" Chris announced cheerily, now wearing a nice, warm parka he had put on while the contestants were distracted by the transformation of island.

"Seriously!?" Paul shivered in the cold wind.

"Yes. Seriously." Chris nodded his head.

_**Confessional**_

"Anybody else regretting voting off Mitchell?" Paul whimpered.

_**End Confessional**_

"Your challenge will be to hike across the frozen wasteland that is the island until you reach the finish line at the most Northern part of the island; about halfway there, you'll have to cross an icy river and then go the rest of the way on the various modes of transportation provided, first come, first served. And due to legal laws, you'll be required to pair up so you'll at least have a warm body to crawl into if you get lost." Chris said with a disturbing grin. "The last team that arrives at the finish line will be _instantly _eliminated! Do not go to bonfire ceremony,do not go through voting, do not collect marshmallow!Any questions?"

All of the contestants raised their hands, shivering and chattering their teeth, but Chris once again ignored them entirely and blew his airhorn, sending the contestants scattering as they scampered to find suitable partners for the challenge ahead.

_**Confessional**_

"Naturally, the lovebirds paired up together," Serphonus grumbled. "Caroline and Maurananei instantly paired up, Trey and Alan ended up pairing together, leaving me to pair up with the silent freak of nature, Anuok; I'll have to watch my step around her. Who knows what she'll see." Serphonus grumbled. "Lucky for me, no one wanted to pair up with the traitor. If she doesn't freeze to death first, she's goin' home."

_**Change Confessional**_

"Ugh, I know I made a mistake!" Zelda cried, grabbing at her hair with hands. "I've said I was sorry over and over at least a hundred times, and they still won't forgive me! Why is it so hard for them to forgive me!?"

_**End Confessional**_

* * *

><p>"At least Chris gave us these jackets to wear." Paul shivered.<p>

"Yeah, these moth-hole filled jackets." Toni grumbled under her breath as they slowly made their way through the knee deep snow. The contest had barely started, allowing them to see the other groups some distance away, just out of hearing range. "You wouldn't really cut me open to survive, right?" she asked.

"Nah, that'd ruin the funeral." Paul cracked, attempting to smile at his joke but forcing to close his mouth for fear of freezing his tongue off. "W-wouldn't it be easier to turn into a p-p-polar bear or s-something?" he chattered. Toni's eyes widened as she came to a stop and smacked herself upside the head. With a short grumble under her breath, she concentrated on an image in her head and felt the changes beginning; her back and body swelled with muscle and tissue, her jacket starting to tear as her body became bigger and bigger with muscle and fat until she made Paul look like a tennis ball compared to a pumpkin. A short layer of fuzz sprouted all over her body, making her look like a children's show puppet until a second, long, shaggier coat puffed out from her body and now made her look like a walking hairball. Her skull ground and cracked as it was forced forward into a long muzzle that her teeth quickly filled, their numbers increasing from thirty-two to about ten more, razor sharp teeth perfectly designed for cutting into and tearing off strips of meat. Her fingernails grew to a wicked length until they were as long as pencils as the bottom of her palms became leathery pads. Her ears rotated to the top of her head as her entire body flashed a creamy white as the last few hundred pounds packed down onto her, finishing the transformation.

The large polar bear bellowed, hot breath pouring out from her jaws as Paul eagerly climbed onto the massive carnivore's back and nestled down into the bear's fur, shuddering slightly at how warm it was. Toni gave a short snort before continuing on their path, her feet acting like snowshoes to keep her mostly above the layer of snow as they walked along, her body swinging from side to side as the wind howled around them.

* * *

><p>"Did I mention that I hate being cold?"<p>

"Yes, Trey you did." Alan sighed.

"Well, I'll say it again!" Trey yelled angrily. "I! HATE! BEING! COLD!"

"Shut it! Someone might hear you!" Alan hissed angrily.

"Oh, what are the odds that anyone's gonna here us out here!?" Trey yelled at the top of his lungs, his voice echoing out through the empty, frozen tundra; a mountain off in the distance rumbled slightly as the snow on its slope trembled and slid down the mountainside in a massive, white cloud whose roar echoed back over the wasteland. "Alright, that might be one reason to stay quite." Trey admitted.

"Guys? Hello? Anyone there?" another voice called out from behind them.

"And there's the other reason." Trey frowned when he caught sight of Zelda struggling to make her way through the frigid, knee deep snow and attempting to keep the way too small jacket she had been given around her.

"C'mon, dude. It's the arctic tundra; she doesn't deserve to freeze to death." Alan protested.

"Yeah, well I ain't trusting my precious baby around her." Trey grumbled as he patted the vaguely guitar-shaped lump underneath his jacket. "Without Micheal around to steal back a yeti or something, I ain't taking any chances. And if I were you, I'd forget about her too."

"Hey, she may have betrayed us all and nearly gotten us all killed, but even she doesn't deserve to become the next Ice Man!" Alan snapped.

"She made a copy of Micheal's Animatrix and gave it to Kiko so she could destroy us!" Trey yelled, clapping his hands over his mouth when the mountain in front of them released another avalanche of snow from its slope. "Fine! But if she gets anywhere _near _my guitar, I will bury her underneath fifty feet of snow!" he hissed. Without another word, the musician marched through the snow grumbling obscenties under his breath as Alan waited for Zelda to catch up to them.

_**Confessional**_

"Other than Maurananei, nobody else has even come close to forgiving me," Zelda sighed. "Then again, I really haven't asked anybody for forgiveness yet. Maybe Alan will be the next?" she wondered hopefully, her face blushing slightly.

_**End Confessional**_

"Thanks." Zelda panted as Alan grabbed her hand and hauled her to her feet.

"No problem. Just be glad Trey's more concerned about his guitar than you." Alan chuckled. "Otherwise, he would have left you to freeze to death."

"Seriously?" Zelda whimpered with exasperation. "For the last time, it wasn't my fault! Kiko tricked me!" she protested before Alan clapped a hand over her mouth, silencing her.

"Keep it down!" he rasped. "The last thing we want is to be burried under fifty feet of snow!"

Zelda nodded and Alan released his hold on her, but noticeably still held her hand as they trudged through the snow, most likely to make sure she didn't fall behind; Zelda felt her face heat up at the gesture, despite the fact that the icy wind whipped past her face and speckled her hair and skin with white flakes.

* * *

><p>Maurananei panted heavily as she shoved her way through the snow, huffing and puffing and surrounding her head in a cloud of vapor as she moved along; the hike would have been less of a journey had Caroline not been hitching a ride on Maurananei's back, but the strong girl didn't really mind in the slightest; Caroline didn't weigh all that much.<p>

"Are you sure you don't mind giving me a piggy back?" Caroline asked over the screeching wind.

"Not in the slightest." Maurananei grunted as she trudged up a steep slope.

"How are you so strong?" Caroline asked after a while.

"When you run from your Dad as often as I do, you build up a lot of muscle." Maurananei answered.

"Did your Dad beat you?" Caroline's eyes went wide.

"My Dad is a cop," Maurananei grunted. "Not even really my Dad, actually. Just some kind dude who took me in when I was a baby and abandoned on the street."

"Your life sounds like a nightmare compared to mine." Caroline sighed. "I practically live a real life Cinderella story; parents only ever really pay attention to me when they want me to make dinner or clean, and everyone at my school and girl scout troop hates me because I like animals," Caroline explained. "That, or that I talk to them."

"Note to self: once this stinkin' show is over, me and Micheal are giving these people a piece of our minds." Maurananei grunted angrily as they made it to the top of the mountain; Caroline jumped down from her back to give her a break and survey their surroundings.

"I think I see the river!" Caroline pointed out at a distant, blue streak in the almost undisturbed landscape of white. "If we slide down the mountain like penguins, we might be able to get ahead of the others." she added.

"Do we really have to?" Maurananei shivered, not at all looking forward to getting snow in her face and other areas; as soon as the challenge was over, she was taking Larry back to the nice, humid swamp to spend the night and hopefully warm up. "I don't see any other campers."

"True," Caroline tapped her chin. "But if that's because if they're already ahead of us?"

"But what if they're behind us?" Maurananei countered.

"Then it wouldn't hurt to put some more distance between us and them," Caroline replied. "And besides! The penguins at the zoo said it was really fun!" Maurananei was about to protest some more, that they could possibly get hurt, that they would get even colder than they were before, and even that they might be buried underneath more snow than they already were, but found that she couldn't resist those big, brown eyes starring at her pleadingly; it was easy to see why Micheal had fallen for her.

"Fine." Maurananei sighed; it looked like she would be staying in that swamp longer than she thought. With reluctance, Maurananei got down on her belly like Caroline instructed, pinning her arms to her sides and stretching her legs as far as they would go to reduce drag. Upon taking one last look at Caroline for assurance, she edged herself forward and started to slide down the mountain, gaining speed as she went until everything was a white blur on either side of her, white flurries kicking up into her face and nearly blinding her as she zoomed down the mountain nearly blind.

"I can't see anything!" Maurananei yelled over the roar of the wind in her ears.

"That's okay! You won't want to see what's coming anyway!" Caroline yelled back.

"WHAT!?" Maurananei screamed before she felt her body twist and arc upwards as she slid off something before she then felt nothing. But then, she had managed to get the snow out of her face and look at surroundings; immediately, she wished she had kept her eyes closed when she saw that she and Caroline were flying through the air. "Tell me when we land!" she cried, covering her eyes.

_**Confessional**_

"Look, I'm not scared of heights," Maurananei growled. "You'd be scared too if you suddenly found yourself in the air after racing down a mountainside with your eyes closed.

_**End Confessional**_

"We're landing!" Caroline yelled just before she and Maurananei landed in a large snowdrift with a sudden puff of snow. The two struggled for a few minutes before they managed to dig themselves out of the drift and back onto the their feet. "The penguins were right! Other than the whole flying through the air thing, that was fun!"

"That depends on your definition." Maurananei spat out a mouthful of snow.

"Oh, come on! It wasn't that bad," Caroline nudged her. "Can't be any worse than what larry does to you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Maurananei narrowed her eyes at her friend.

"I imagine having to take care of a plant the size of a dinosaur is a grueling task," Caroline shrugged. "Especially when he gets affectionet; Anuok came to me while I was shoveling out the stables asking me if I had any spare towels. Well, asking me as best as she could." she corrected herself.

"Good." Maurananei sighed with relief.

"Why? Did you think I was going to say something else?" Caroline wondered.

"Well . . . a few people are thinking that I'm in a relationship with Larry. Like I'm dating him." Maurananei admitted. "First of all, it's disgusting to even think about it, and second, I only kiss him like a normal pet owner would to their dog or cat; Larry's like a dog, right?"

"In a sense." Caroline grunted as she pulled herself loose from the snow mound. "I saw you teaching him a few tricks; nice job by the way."

"Do you think I could enter him in a dog show?" Maurananei wondered as she pulled herself out of the snow.

"I'd advise against it," Caroline smiled at the joke. "Not only would it be difficult to even gethim into the stadium, but there's the issue of the fact that he's not an actual dog. That, and he might eat the other contestants."

"My Larry would never do that!" Maurananei protested. "Okay, he might." she admitted after receiving a hard stare from Caroline.

"How much further do you think we have to go?" Caroline asked.

"Dunno. Might as well start walking." Maurananei shrugged as she bent down and let Caroline climb on her back once more to begin the grueling journey across the frozen tundra.

* * *

><p>Serphonus panted heavily as he hiked across the frozen desert that had become the island, grumbling under his breath; what he was mostly grumbling about was hate. He hated Chris for forcing him and the others into life threatening challenges, he hated the cold for numbing his toes, nose, and face in general, and he hated the fact that he hadn't been to cause as much mayhem as he would have liked to. What he hated most however, was that Anuok seemed to be watching him closely, like a hawk starring at and studying its prey, waiting for the time when it would make its move.<p>

It not only unsettled and unnerved him, but her constant survelience of him prevented him from going along with his dasterdly plans and schemes. He had gotten the perfect chance to nearly bury Paul and Toni in an avalanche as they made great time across the snow, but Anuok had caught him at the last second and he had to pretend he was plain, ol' Wilson; despite being in control, he still retained his goody two shoes look, so as not to attract any suspcions. While it severely deprived him of his powers, it allowed him to walk amongst the cast without any suspicion.

"You don't talk much, do you?" Serphonus wondered aloud.

Of course there was no response, and the witch doctor in disguise continued his trek, still muttering nonsense under his breath. It wasn't until the pair had made their way to the top of a tall hill did he finally have enough of Anuok hindering him.

"How far do you think it is to the river?" he wondered.

Anuok merely shrugged before pointing at something down below. Serphonus peered down below and saw what looked to be like two girls had fused together on top of each other into one person; upon closer inspection the witch doctor in disguise saw that it was Maurananei giving Caroline a ride across the frozen tundra, completely oblivious to him and Anuok and lying right in the way of the mountain they were on.

A devious idea began to form in Serphonus's head, but a quick glance behind him told him that Anuok was watching him closely, her eyes wide and unblinking as she starred at him. "Well, uh, we should pick up the pace then, huh?" he coughed before turning to walk down the mountain; Anuok shrugged and walked with him, pausing when he bent down to tie his shoe.

"Go ahead. I'll catch up." he promised her as he set to working the laces; Anuok gave him another hard look but continued on after a few seconds.

_**Confessional**_

"Believe me when I saw I would _love _to knock her out and leave her to freeze to death," Serphonus grumbled. "But Chris will probably disqualify me if I don't bring her along, and there is no way I am going to drag her lifeless body across this wasteland of ice; besides, odds are she'll probably see it coming if I do." he added with disgust. "So for now, I gotta keep things low and subtle. And when the chance arises, Ms. Mute and Claravoiant is going home."

_**Change Confessional**_

"So here we are, walking across this god forsaken landscape that Chris has set up, when out of nowhere, disaster struck." Maurananei remembered. "I don't know what happened, but I think I saw Anuok and Wilson? Maybe I was seeing things." she mumbled to herself.

_**End Confessional**_

Serphonus quickly glanced up from his foot to see Anuok was a fair distance away, just far enough that she wouldn't see anything. He quickly climbed to his feet and gathered up as much snow as he could, patting it tightly into a ball before he set it up at the top of the hill and gave it a nudge, sending it rolling down the mountainside; as it rolled, the snowball got bigger and bigger as it picked up more and more snow on its path right at the unsuspecting girls.

"Oops." Serphonus shrugged as he jogged to catch up with Anuok before she started suspecting things.

* * *

><p>" . . . and suddenly, my Dad arrests my friends!" Maurananei summed up.<p>

"Really?" Caroline sounded interested and a tad frightened.

"Yep," Maurananei nodded. "They were released after a week though, due to their age, but seriously! I got grounded for a _month!_"

"Well, you did graffiti your elementary school when you are in the 2nd grade." Caroline winced.

"I know, I know, but it's the principle of the thing! And even when my street friends were released from jail, we were given three weeks detention where we had to help the janitor clean the school; in other words, do the stuff that he didn't want to do, but wasn't too dangerous for us to do." she shuddered. "I can still smell the boys bathroom."

"That does sound disgusting." Caroline shivered. "But you know what I hear now?"

"What?"

"I dunno, but I can't quite put my finger on it." Caroline hummed, resting her chin on Maurananei's head to think as her eyes flickered around the blank landscape for the possible source of the sound; she soon found it. "I know what it is! A monster snowball rolling right at us!" she screamed.

"What!?" Maurananei cried a second too late. Before she could even attempt to move out of the way, the massive ball of snow that was now roughly the size of an elephant now, and came barrelling at them at a speed so fast that the two girls had no hope of moving out of the way before they were swallowed up into the snowball and packed inside as it continued to roll farther and farther across the fridgid plain before it finally came to a stop at a mound of frost covered rocks and split open, releasing them from its hold.

"You okay?" Maurananei moaned as she held her aching head.

"Dji we mooke it?" Caroline responded deliriously.

"Uh, not quite." Maurananei shruggedas she dug herself out and grabbed Caroline by her shoulders, effortlessly hefting her out of the destroyed snowball and setting the small girl onto her shoulders and beginning their long trek across the chilled landscape. "So, what about your time in girl scouts? I've never really been one to get involved with girly stuff."

"Well, there was that time we went camping; the other girls were picking on me when this brave elk came charging out of the forest and sent two of them flying into the canopy . . ." Caroline began to talk.

* * *

><p>Trey huffed and puffed as he hiked through the snow, attempting to ignore the awkward words that were passed between Alan and Zelda as they walked along. The talking annoying to him, but if it kept Alan moving, that was just fine with him; and if he had to chose between going against Zelda or anyone else in the competition, especially the likes of Paul or Toni, the choice wasn't that hard to make.<p>

"Is it just me, or this that snow moving?" Zelda wondered aloud.

Curious as to what the heck she was talking about, Trey turned around and peered off into the distance, nearly doing a double take when he saw a large polar bear barrelling through the snow towards them with Paul on its back, hanging onto the bear's thick fur with all his might.

"This doesn't bode well." Alan gulped.

"No, no it does not." Zelda agreed.

"Yeah, well that's about to change," Trey grunted as he ran back and past the two, pulling out his guitar from under his jacket and raising an exaggerated hand to strum a cord; he took a quick aim and nodded with satisfaction when he noticed that Toni and Paul were right between a mountain pass.

"Isn't that a _bit _over the top?" Alan tried to reason with his friend.

"No, no it's not!" Trey snapped. "And besides, even if they do get buried, Toni can always turn into a mole or something and dig her way out." he added before he thrust his hand down across the strings of his guitar just as he inhaled a deep breath and sent both screaming out as loud as possible, aiming towards the top of the mountain. Alan and Zelda covered their ears as snow from both sides of the pass started to tumble down in a heavy avalanche, rushing right at the polar bear and Paul and swallowing the both of them without effort.

"Now lets get a move on before they dig themselves out!" Trey yelled, turning on his heel and rushiong through the snow towards the river with Alan and Zelda on his heels.

* * *

><p><em><span><strong>Confessional<strong>_

"I know it was dirty play, but at this point in the game, it's every player for themselves," Trey explained as he tuned his guitar to calm his frozen nerves. "Who would you rather go up against in the finale? The girl who can change into the world's deadliest animals, a guy you can't even see, or a brainiac that everyone hates? As much as I hate to admit it, I'm going to have to keep Zelda around for as long as possible; it'll make my image look _much _better by comparison."

_**Change Confessional**_

"When I get my claws on Trey, I am gonna horn-wedgie him so bad, his boxers'll go right up his **BEEP!**" Toni cursed.

_**End Confessional**_

"Well, we finally made it." Serphonus grumbled. After much walking and slipping and sliding all over the place, he and Anuok had reached the river with little difficulty; and on a high note for the camouflaged witch doctor, his mute partner never suspected anything of his meddling.

"Welcome to the Icy River of Frosty, Frozen Death!" Chris announced as he rode up on a snowmobile; Anuok quickly scratched something down with her shivering hand and gave Chris the notepad to read. "Yes, it's cold! Was that not obvious!?" Chris frowned.

"Actually, I think she's just trying to annoy you." Serphonus smirked. "Something I can get behind."

"Whatever," Chris frowned, chucking the notepad back at Anuok. "All you have to do is cross the river by any means possible and reach the other side. Once there, you will chose one of four transportation methods; a snowmobile, a reindeer and sleigh, a dog sled, and finally, a pair of snowshoes. They're first come, first serve, so you might wanna be quick about it." the host chuckled deviously as Anuok and Serphonus shared a worried look.

"You first." Serphonus chuckled nervously when he caught sight of the ice floes slowly making their way downstream, colliding together and making uncomfortable grinding and cracking noises as they broke apart upon collision. Anuok gulped nervously and sucked in a deep breath before taking a running start and launching herself off the edge of the river and landing on a large slab of ice. After she was certain she wasn't going to fall into the frigid waters and be turned into a popsicle, she gestured for Serphonus to catch up with her.

"Well, if she can do it, so can I." Serphonus shrugged as he bunched up his legs and threw himself from the edge and landed on an ice floe, nearly tumbling into the drink before he managed to regain his balance and stay on the floe before he jumped to another one about halfway across the river; Anuok was already waiting on the other side, waiting for him to catch up to her on the snowmobile. Serphonus grumbled something under his breath and threw himself again, just barely clearing the distance between the floe and the riverbank, landing on the other side in a cloud of snow before he scrambled to his feet and climbed onto the snowmobile as Anuok revved the engine and sped off.

Chris was about to head off on his snowmobile to head to the nice, warm, toasty trailer he had purchased for such a challenge that was sitting out of sight beneath a mountain range with a wood burning pizza oven, eighty inch plasma TV, capachino machine, and comfy armchair, when Trey, Zelda, and Alan came running up to the riverbank, breathing heavily as they leanned on their knees to catch their breath. "Welcome to the Icy River of Frosty, Frozen Death!" Chris repeated.

"Is it cold?" Alan wondered.

"Yes, yes it is." Chris said with a somewhat irritated tone. "Now, the three of you are going to have to cross this river by any means and grab one of the transportation methods on the other side; first come, first serve." Chris summed up.

"Lets move!" Trey roared. "Try to keep up." he added to Zelda as he whipped his guitar and jammed the end of it into the snow, pole vaulting him across the freezing waters and landing somewhat painfully on his belly with a grunt.

"C'mon." Alan gave Zelda's hand a reassuring squeeze. "If you fall in, I'll pull you out."

"Thanks." Zelda smiled. "I guess I'll . . . pull you out too?"

"I'd like that." Alan joked. "Last one to the other side is a popsicle!" he yelled before suddenly dashing for the riverbank and throwing himself off of the edge to land on an ice floe and slipping, falling onto his back. Zelda rolled her eyes and calculated the jump in her head before she jumped and bounced off of the nearest ice floe before she was tossed to the next ice slab, bouncing all around the maze of icebergs and finally to the other side, landing perfectly on her feet; all Trey and Alan could do was gape and stare as Zelda smirked and gave a slight bow as she grabbed the dogsled and waited for the boys to catch up.

"Wait, do we really want her driving?" Trey asked Alan. "And why did she go for the dogsled and not the reindeer?"

"She obviously has her reasons, Trey," Alan grunted as he picked himself up and jumped to the next iceberg. "Just trust her on this one, okay?" he pleaded as he jumped to the riverbank and jogged to the dogsled, sitting down and waving for Trey to hurry up. The musician sighed and climbed to his feet before he jumped across three more ice floes before he made it to the other side and joined his team mates before Zelda snapped the reins and sent the dogs running.

"Mush!" she yelled as the dogs barked and yipped.

* * *

><p>Caroline was breathing heavily, hyperventilating actually; all she could see was white. All she could see white all around her in all directions, numbing her senses and slowly freezing her. Her hands were numb and there was snow in her jacket, sliding and melting down her back as she tried to remember which way was up. Without much other choice, she started to hack and cough until she had enough substance in her mouth to spit out a small loogie that came falling right back onto her face. Now that she knew which way was up, she turned over onto her back and started to dig upwards, scooping away handfuls of snow with her freezing fingers until she could see daylight again and hauled herself up and out of the snow and into the howling wind.<p>

"H-Hello?" she called out. "Maurananei? Where are you!?" she called out fearfully; the last time she had seen her friend was just before the avalanche had struck them while they were trudging through a mountain pass. During the sudden onslaught of snow, Maurananei had lost her grip on Caroline, and the two of them had gotten separated in the sudden tragedy. "MAURANANEI!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

A sudden movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention and she clumsily made her way through the snow as she dug through the snow, desperately searching for her friend until she found a hand. At first, she was overjoyed at first, but it was then that she realized that what she was digging up wasn't her missing friend. She continued to dig regardless until she managed to uncover the person's head and chest, revealing it to be Paul.

"Ugh. Thanks for digging me out." he coughed as he climbed to his feet with a groan. "What hit us?"

"Approximately three tons of snow." Caroline unhappily. "I don't suppose you've seen Maurananei anywhere, have you?"

"I was just buried under three tons of snow." Paul said with a dead panned expression. "I doubt I would have the time or energy to find or see anyone else." he sighed just as a patch of snow shifted and moved a short distance away, catching Paul and Caroline's attention as a massive creauture burst out of the snow with a loud rumble.

"Well, you know what they say," Paul shrugged. "Where there's a will, there's a-"

"Woolly mammoth?" Caroline gaped as the massive, prehistoric animal used its large, curved tusks to shovel its way out of the snow with its double layer of fur and blubber to keep it nice and insulated from the freezing temperatures. The animal gave a short trumpet with its trunk and curled it around the waist of Paul before hauling him up onto its back.

"Where did Toni even get the DNA for this thing? I thought they were extinct!" Paul exclaimed.

"She said she got it when she went to acquire a polar bear; something about a mammoth carcass frozen in a glacier," Caroline translated the hairy elephant's rumbles. "Can you two at least help me find Maurananei? We got separated."

"I think we can help," Paul nodded. "What say you?" he asked the mammoth. The massive animal rumbled and thrust its trunk down in the snow, rooting around in the white fluff for a few seconds before it seemed that she hooked onto something and easily pulled it out; thing turned out to be Maurananei dangling from the mammoth's trunk by her ankle and unconscious.

"There you go." Paul waved as Toni dropped the unconscious girl onto the snow. "See you around, and I hope you make it across the finish line." he waved good bye as the ammoth plowed through the snow in the direction of the river, following the alluring scent of water with her trunk.

_**Confessional**_

"I know leaving Caroline and Maurananei alone on the tundra probably wasn't the smartest move, but we can't lose this challenge," Paul sighed as he pinched his brow. "Me and Toni have huge targets on her backs since we have the most threatening of powers; I know no one's said it, but I can tell it by the way they look at us. They want us gone, and I have to make sure we stay in."

_**End Confessional**_

* * *

><p>Admittedly, Chris had seen weirder things during his days of Total Drama; Owen being stripped naked three times in just the first two days of the first season; the freshwater man-eating sharks giving Justin CPR; Tyler being relentlessly electrocuted by aliens at Area 51; even Izzy dressing up as a mutant spider in season four, despite the fact he had hired her to do so in the first place. And while seeing a boy riding on the back of a supposedly extinct woolly mammoth was considered somewhat normal compared to everything else he had seen in his days.<p>

"Congrats, Paul and Toni; you may be in last place for the time being, but there's still a chance you might make it." Chris greeted them.

"What do we gotta do, host man?" Paul sighed as he climbed off of Toni and to the ground.

"Easy, Mammoth Musk." Chris mocked him, pinching his noise. "Seriously, you smell like you've been living in the boy's locker room for eight years eating nothing by smell socks and jock straps." he shuddered before continuing. "All you gotta do is cross this icy river by any means and grab one of the modes of transportation to make it the finish line. Any questions?"

"Yeah. How long are you going to keep talking to yourself?"

Chris did a double take and looked at the spot where Paul and his mammoth companion had been moments before looking across the river to see Paul jump to the other side from a small floe as a sandhill crane touched down from its short flight over the river near the pair of snowshoes that Paul promptly shoved onto his feet before the crane disappeared in a flurry of snow white feathers and dull, gray fur to be replaced by a large reindeer; Paul waddled over to the abandoned sleigh and stole a strong piece of rope from inside it before lashing it to Toni's antlers and cracking them, the large animal taking off at a brisk trot over the frozen tundra with Paul dragging behind her as if he were water skiing.

_**Confessional**_

"I have principles, alright?" Toni glowered at the camera. "We could have easily taken the reindeer and sleigh, but I absolutely refuse to use an animal as a form of transportation for my own gain, no matter what kind of animal it is. And after word with Paul, he agrees with me; at least, this time around." she giggled.

_**Change Confessional**_

"Anyone know how to get bird poop out of this jacket?" Paul wondered, pointing to a black and white stain on his shoulder before a thought crossed his mind. "You know what? Never mind; it's Chris's crummy jacket anyway." he smirked.

_**End Confessional**_

"I must be losing my marbles." Chris muttered to himself.

* * *

><p>Caroline was sputtering and panting heavily as she carried Maurananei through the snow; her friend had yet to awaken and, with little other choice, Caroline had hefted her entire weight onto her back and began the long and slow trek to the river, hoping against hope that she would succeed in this challenge. Then again, what were the odds that she would win? By now, the others were probably at, if not already across the river by now and most likely already racing across the other expanse of the tundra for the finish line. And here she was, having yet to reach the river with Maurananei unconscious on her back and weighing her down; and even if by some mirical they <em>did <em>happen to make it to the river, what were the odds that she would even make it to the finish line now?

She supposed that if she were and most likely would be eliminated that night, she would be going home with her friend at the very least. And then she could put the awful competition behind her and resume her normal life; she could finally go back to school, finally go back to her girlscout troop, and finally get back to Micheal. And she would make sure to keep in contact with Maurananei as well, for those rare times she managed to get free and simply enjoy herself without worry.

"Hey, Maurananei? You wake yet?" Caroline sighed; she had been asking that question to her unconscious friend for the past half hour or so, just to see if she were awake or not. Of course, there was no response, as usual, so she simply kept on walking along. The wind howled and whipped at her face, biting her furiously on her nose and lips and turning them blue; it would be a mircale if she didn't get frostbite from this challenge and have to have something cut off.

After what seemed like an eternity of walking through the snow with the wind whipping at her hair and biting at her face like hundreds of little nails and pegs, she finally made it to the river where she dropped to her knees and fell to the ground, dropping Maurananei as well.

"About time you got here!" Chris snapped angrily, having just awoken from a nap. "You're so far behind, you might as well quit now! The others are _way _ahead of you!" he scolded them. "But, if you ask me, you should keep on going; determination that ends in total failure is _awesome _for the ratings." he grinned.

"If I wasn't so tired and cold, I would have Maurananei tear ouot your kiwis and make you eat them." Caroline spat out a mouthful of snow; Chris unconsciously covered his nether regions as he quickly explained what Caroline had to do and then made a hasty retreat to his cozy abode where he wouldn't be threatened by the contestants for the time being.

Caroline sighed and grabbed Maurananei by the leg and dragged her towards the bank, gulping nervously when she caught sight of the frozen rapids rushing and spilling through the river, jostling the ice floes and making Caroline think twice about jumping; not was it practically insane, but with the very real threat of her not being able to properly throw Maurananei from iceberg to iceberg reliably without accidentally tossing her into the freezing waters.

"Hello? Can someone help me, please!" she called out into the arctic wasteland, hoping that someone, anyone would hear here pleas. At first, there was no reply of any kind, just the howling wind and snow sweeping across the landscape, until the river in front of her rippled and stirred, the ice floes being forced out of the way as something rose to the surface; water slid off of the object as it surfaced, a good amount of water being shot into the air in a sudden jet of water as a hole opened up in the object. A large, black dorsal fin rose from the middle of the back and Caroline could just barely see a white patch beneath the surface as an orca bellowed and clicked at her.

"Really?" Caroline marveled. "Thank you! How can I repay you?" she asked the whale as she dragged Maurananei through the snow and hefted her onto the killer whale's back as it kindly ferried her across the river without complaint or getting the two girls wet as it rested its head against the opposite bank.

"Seriously, how can I repay you?" Caroline asked as she rolled Maurananei onto the bank; the killer whale grunted and squealed slightly before giving a sudden burst of its blowhole and raising its head out of the water to open its mouth. Caroline shrugged and reached inside the whale's mouth, pulling out a fish bone that had been firmly stuck between two of the whale's teeth and then giving the marine mammal a good scratch on the tongue. "Thanks again!" she waved good bye as the whale gave a final snort of its blowhole and sank beneath the waves.

_**Confessional**_

"That was almost like something out of one of those Free Willy movies," Caroline giggled. "Although I question how a killer whale managed to get into a river; to fair, the river was pretty big." she tapped her chin in thought. "And on the very big chance that we lose this challenge, I'll at least go home knowing I helped out an animal today!"

_**End Confessional**_

* * *

><p>Anuok pushed the engine of the snowmobile even further as she and Serphonus raced across the tundra, the wind whipping at their faces as they neared the finish line they could just barely make out in the distance. It seemed victory was within their grasp, something that relieved Serphonus to no end. It meant that while Anuok would still be safe from elimination, it also meant he was still able to stay in the game long enough to hopefully boot Anuok out of said game.<p>

It was then that a sudden barking caught his attention, and the witch doctor in disguise looked over his shoulder to see Zelda, Trey, and Alan fast approaching on their dogsled, the lead canine looking like it wanted to eat Serphonus alive. "Permission to play dirty?" he asked Anuok.

Surprisingly, she gave a quick thumbs up before pushing the engine even harder.

Serphonus grinned wickedly as he turned around on the snowmobile and knelt over to drop his hand down into the snow, scooping it up as the snowmobile chugged along until he had enough to pack into a tight ball; he than chucked it not at the lead dog running after him, but at Zelda herself, succeeding it nailing her in the elbow. A barrage of snowballs quickly followed, pelting Zelda in the neck, shoulders, chest, and face and nearly blinding her as Alan yelled out instructions to her as best as he could.

"Hey! That's cheating!" Trey yelled angrily.

"Says the guy who buried Paul and Toni in snow!" Alan shot back.

"Someone say our names?"

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?" Trey roared as a reindeer with ropes attached to its antlers came galloping up next to the dogsled, dragging Paul behind it on its snowshoes; he laughed and made a rude gesture with his hand and cracked the ropes like a pair of reins, driving the animal along faster.

"Were gonna lose!" Alan wailed.

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Trey growled as he climbed to his feet and steadied himself on the moving sled, grabbing his guitar and quietly thumbing a few strings.

"No! Don't-" Zelda attempted to warn her teammates just before Serphonus struck her in the jaw with a particularly hard snowball and sent her tumbling off the back end of the sled and through the snow; Alan was too busy covering his ears and yelling commands to the dogs as Trey thrust his hands down across the strings of the guitar and let out another sonic scream that raced past them and aimed at the snowmobile as it shot off across the arctic landscape; the attack missed by a mile as Anuok skillfully drove the snowmobile to the right and dodged it.

"Something tells me she saw that coming." Trey mused just as the sled came to a jerking stop and sent both of its remaining passengers flying into the snow as the dogs whined and howled in agony, rolling around in the snow and clapping their paws over their ears. "What the- what's going on!?" Trey sputtered angrily.

"I think that's what Zelda was trying to warn us about." Alan shook his head free of snow. "Your sonic scream must have hurt the dog's ears like crazy."

"Gee, thanks for that, Captain Obvious." Trey grumbled under his breath.

"Suckers!" Serphonus taunted.

* * *

><p>"<em>Dashing through the snow! In a one-reindeer open sleigh!" <em>Caroline sang as she snapped the reins and urged the reindeer to go faster; the animal happily obliged and ran even faster through the snow while Maurananei peacefully slept on. It had been an obvious choice for her to choose the reindeer, and not just because it was the only option left; with a little convincing, Caroline managed to work out a deal with the reindeer hooked up to the sleigh. If she at least provided him a tune to listen to as well as a bushel of carrots after the challenge was over, he would pull her to the finish line without complaint or hesitation.

"Can you please stop it with the singing, please?" Maurananei moaned as she slowly came to.

"Maurananei! You're alright!" Caroline cried happily, letting go of the reins long enough to hug her friend tightly.

"Of course I am!" Maurananei choked out until Caroline let her go. "But whoever started that avalanche won't be when I get my hands on them; Larry's eating hearty tonight!"

"C-can we focus on winning the race first?" Caorline flinched at her friend's anger.

"Fine," Maurananei sighed. "But when we cross the finish line, no one is safe!" she threatened.

"Glad we can agree on something," Caroline smiled as she took hold of the reins once more. "I hope you can sing though; he refuses to move if we can't sing him a song."

"Does he have any preferences, or does he not care?" Maurananei referred to the reindeer.

"Nah, he doesn't really care." Caroline replied. "But I don't think it'll matter. I can see the finish line!"

"Yes! We won't die!" Maurananei cheered.

"Yeah, but we're probably going home." Caroline sighed. "On the bright side, I'll be able to see Micheal again."

"Don't count us out yet. I think I see something up ahead." Maurananei squinted onto the horizon. Sure enough, there was something hunkered down in the snow as they approached, a small mound of snow that was shivering slightly. "Don't stop the sleigh." Maurananei instructed Caroline as she leaned over the side of the racing sleigh and reached out with an open hand, waiting for just the right moment until they came upon the small mound and she jammed a hand into the small mound, grabbing hold of something inside and yanking it out.

"Zelda?" Caroline's eyes widened.

"S-s-s-so c-cold." the Pink Monger shivered as she was effortlessly hauled back into the sleigh and immediately covered in a spare blanket at the bottom of the sleigh and put between the two girls for warmth. "Th-Thanks."

_**Confessional**_

"Before any of you ask, I only did it so she'd remain in the game farther down the road; less competition that way." Maurananei explained. "Also, no one deserves to be frozen to death thanks to Chris." she added with a frown.

_**End Confessional**_

"We're catching up!" Maurananei cried ecstatically, pointing a finger out across the arctic horizon. Caroline narrowed her eyes to get a better look and indeed saw a black and orange snowmobile racing across the snow; that, and a turned over sled with Trey and Alan running and screaming around in circles as they were chased by an entire team of huskies hellbent on turning the two boys into a pair of chew toys.

"I w-w-warned y-you!" Zelda yelled at them as they raced past the two boys and showered them with a wave of snow.

"Hahahahahahaha!" Maurananei cackled.

"I wouldn't be laughing yet, Maurananei." Caroline gulped. "Wilson's glaring at us. _Really _meanly, too." she added with a cringe.

"Oh, yeah? Not if I have anything to say about it!" Maurananei growled as she reached over the side of the sleigh and scooped up a handful of snow before packing it into her other hand, repeating the process several times until she had a snowball about the size of a basketball in her hand. With a grunt, she stood up in the sleigh and chucked the sizeable ball as hard as she could, successfully pile driving it into Wilson's face and knocking him back into Anuok, causing the two of them to wipe out as the reindeer-drawn sleigh raced by them with the three girls taunting them.

We're gonna be first! We're gonna be first!" Maurananei sang happily.

"Actually, I think it might be a little late for that." Caroline pointed out. Maurananei peered off into the distance to see Paul and a very exciteable reindeer dancing around in the snow between a pair of tall, red flags much to Chris and Chef's annoyance.

"Well, at least we won't be going home. That's something, right?" Maurananei shrugged.

"Think again!"

"What the- didn't I snowball you into next week!?" Maurananei yelled angrily as Wilson and Anuok pulled up next to them on their snowmobile. With an irritated growl, stole the reins from Caroline and took control of the sleigh, jerking them to the left to ram the sleigh into the snowmobile and threaten to nearly send it toppling on its side before she snapped them again to urge the reindeer on faster. They suddenly rammed in from the side by Anuok; the shove match continued for nearly a hundred more feet, neither side giving in to the other until Maurananei had had enough and returned the reins to Caroline before she dove over the side of the sleigh and tackled both Anuok and Wilson, knocking the snowmobile over and wiping the two of them out before she scrambled to her feet and jogged after the sleigh, crossing the finish line a few precious seconds after Caroline did with a severely irritated Wilson and Anuok coming in close behind them

_**Confessional**_

"All I can say is . . . well played." Serphonus smirked. "I'm so proud!"

_**Change Confessional**_

Anuok scribbled something down on her notepad before holding it up to the camera. "Not like I didn't see that coming," it read.

_**End Confessional**_

"And the winner's are . . ." Chris paused for dramatic flair, much to everyone's displeasure. "Paul and Toni! You two lovebirds will enjoy a lovely night together in The Hangout of Awesomeness!" he announced as Toni resumed her human form and kissed Paul on the cheek with a mischevious grin that sent shivers down Chris's spine.

"As for Caroline, Maurananei, Zelda, Wilson, and Anuok, you lot are in not quite loser, not quite winner place, meaning you have not won anything of desire but you won't be going home tonight," Chris explained as Trey and Alan dragged themselves across the finish line, their jackets ripped and torn in several places as they suffered mild bites. "And as for you two, pack up your undies and say good-bye to your friends and enemies! You're goin' home!"

"I'll go home when I say I'll go home!" Trey screamed angrily as he grabbed his guitar and raised it above his head like a club as he chased after Chris with a vengeance; no one made a move to save the host from certain injury.

* * *

><p>"Any final words before I push this button and send you flying out of my life and possibly to the end of yours?" Chris asked cheekily for Trey to climb into his capsule so the host could shoot him out of the Torpedo of Shame; in response to his previous question, Trey whipped out his guitar and clubbed Chris over the head with the instrument before climbing into the capsule with a satisfied smirk on his face. With a slight bump on his head and stars at the end of his vision, Chris pressed the red button on his remote and sent the musician firing out of the submarine and off into the distance.<p>

"You're next, Mr. Pervert." Chris grinned cheerily.

"Put a sock in it, McClain before I grab one of Chef's gym socks and shove it down your throat!" Maurananei threatened the host with a clenched fist; Chris uneasily backed away from the group of contestants that had come to see their fellow contestants off, some with an intent to hurt the host should he take things a little too far.

"Well, I guess this is it." Alan sighed as he faced to turn his fellow contestants.

"Take care, dude." Paul gave him a short salute that Alan returned.

Anuok merely waved good-bye as Toni gave Alan a short hug and unintentionally gave him one last close up of her cleavage, much to Alan's pleasure; he quickly released her before she either hurt him or an already suspicious Paul twisted him into a knot.

"For what's worth, I was actually kinda hopin' you'd win." Maurananei smirked as she shook Alan's hand with a smile on her face. "Keep in touch with me? I could always use a lookout next time I steal my principal's car." she grinned jokingly, though Alan was sure there was some truth behind it. Regardless he agreed and was given a short hug by her before he was passed along to the next contestant.

"So, uh, I guess I'll see you around?" he shrugged.

"Maybe." Caroline smiled. "Just don't get any ideas or Micheal will end you."

"Don't I know it!" Alan smiled as he waved good-bye and at last came to Zelda. The two stared at each other for a few minutes before either one of them spoke. "Uh, just wanted to say that I'm sorry for my . . . previous actions. You know, me stalking you and all."

"Don't worry about it," Zelda waved it off. "Water under the bridge, as they say."

"Glad to hear it," Alan nodded. "So, um, can I just ask something?"

"Hurry it up! It's a half hour show!" Chris complained; surprisingly, it wasn't Maurananei that smacked him upside the head, but none other than Chef. The cook merely gave a shrug when he caught Maurananei starring at him.

"Go ahead." Zelda nodded.

"Were you and Micheal . . . ya know, ever a thing?" Alan asked.

Zelda shook her head. "No, our relationship was strictly business."

Alan grinned. "Good. Then that means I can do this." he said before he lunged forward and kissed Zelda right on the lips, startling her for a few seconds before she practically melted in his grasp, holding him close to her as she moaned and panted and squeezed tight; all anyone else could was watch as the two teens made out right before their very eyes.

_**Confessional**_

"As pervertish as he may have been or may be, there's just something I can't resist about him," Zelda sighed sheepishly, her cheeks flushing a light red. "He's cute, kind, relatively smart, and once you've had your shape-shifting friend knock some sense into him, trustworthy and a great guy, too."

_**Change Confessional**_

"MY LIFE IS COMPLETE! WOO-HOO!" Alan cheered happily.

_**End Confessional**_

"Stop it! Stop it!" Chris begged, covering his eyes. "That is _the _most single disgusting thing I have ever seen! Even Owen farting Beethoven's 5th is beautiful compared to this!"

"Geez, someone needs to evaluate his life," Paul grumbled under his breath.

"Whatever! Just in the capsule already!" Chris demanded as Alan gave Zelda one last kiss and climbed into the capsule before Chef shoved him into the torpedo tube and shot him out into the lake and away from the competition.

"Can Zelda keep her relationship with Alan intact?" Chris started to sign out. "How many times with Maurananei threaten to kill me before she's eliminated? And will I ever be responsible for anything that happens to Paul and Toni while they are alone in The Hangout of Awesomeness together without any cameras to spy on them? All these questions and more probably won't be answered on the next episode of Total! Drama! Pahkitew's Vengeance!"

**And there it is, ladies and gentlemen!**

**As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!**

**Hasta Luego!**


	16. TDPV Aftermath III: Trey to get Ready

**Welcome, welcome, one and all! I have returned from the oblivion of hopelessness that is life to bring you another chapter for you to read and escape from your bleak and meaningless lives (ain't I a stinker?)!**

**As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!**

**Onwards!**

_**Confessional**_

"I fear no one," Micheal frowned angrily. He then gulped and looked back and forth before edging closer to the camera. "But that . . . thing? It scares me." he shuddered.

_**Change Confessional**_

"N-n-no!" Caroline cried. "M-make it stop! M-ma-make it go away! G-go away!"

_**Change Confessional**_

"That . . . thing . . . will forever haunt my nightmares." Serphonus shivered.

_**Change Confessional**_

"One shudders to imagine what inhuman thoughts hide behind that mask." Paul said with haunted eyes."

_**End Confessional**_

A low, haunting sound filled the hallway as Serphonus's blood slowly dripped onto the wooden floor. The witch doctor found he couldn't tear his frightened eyes away from his coming tormentor, finding every feature both terrifying and interesting at the same time. The heavy, rubber boots slowly clomped against the wooden boards as the rubber gloves flexed their fingers, tightening and loosening their grip on a clunky, heavy machine that made Serphonus freeze. The fire retardant suit gave away no small features, though Wilson noticed it was actually smaller and thinner than Mithcell's. But what frightened Serphonus the most, even more than the large flamethrower aimed directly at his face, was the dark, soulless eyes of the gas mask that obscured the person's face as their loud breathing filled Serphonus's ears.

"H-hello?" he gulped nervously as the Pyro starred at him without emotion.

The Pyro didn't respond but merely leveled the flamethrower at Serphonus's face and pulled the trigger, their face never giving away at emotion as Serphonus screamed with fright and melted before its eyes, the skin igniting and peeling away from the body before the muscles melted and the bones were burnt to an ash, leaving nothing but the Demoman's stick gun behind.

A creak caught the thing's attention and it yanked the ax out of the wall just in time to block a bullet from Anuok as she raced down the hall towards it. The Scout silently screamed a battle cry and pulled out a large fish wrapped in newspaper from her pocket, raising it above her head to bring it down on the Pyro's skull; believe it for not, dead fish actually made a decent weapon. Unfortunately for the mute Scout, the Pyro swung her ax and swung her in the gut, sending her flying to the floor. Before she could even scramble out of the way, the Pyro leveled its flamethrower at her and pulled the trigger, showering her in a tidal wave of fire that destroyed every last trace of her.

"Mmmphf! Mmumumumuph!" the Pyro cackled with glee

* * *

><p>Larry roared in agony, allowing Maurananei to jump out of the Larry's mouth, grab hold of his upper lip, and swing herself up onto his head where she viciously bit him again. The mutant plant screeched as the ground beneath it rumbled and shook, the earth cracking and splitting as Larry pulled himself out by the roots and rose up into the air, roaring loudly as it snapped its roots and vines in an attempt to swipe the annoying pest on it. Maurananei ducked under a sweeping tentacle before slugging another one that came at her and then biting yet another vine with her teeth. Larry howled in agony as he began to run madly, Maurananei grabbing the tips of two vines and yanking back on them as hard as she could, steering Larry in the way she wanted to go, grinning madly as they stormed through the trees in the direction of the beach.<p>

It was then that a shrill scream came to her attention and Maurananei glanced downwards to see Caroline running as fast as her legs could carry her, her legs little less than a blur as she tried to avoid being crushed underroot by Larry. With a loud grunt, Maurananei raised up her foot and drove her heel into Larry's head, forcing Larry to lash down with a root and scoop a terrified Caroline up and to her jaws. Maurananei gasped and buried her foot deeper into Larry's head, forcing him to stop.

"No! Bad, Larry! Bad!" Maurananei scolded the gigantic plant. "We don't eat our friends!"

* * *

><p><em><span><strong>Confessional<strong>_

"As pervertish as he may have been or may be, there's just something I can't resist about him," Zelda sighed sheepishly, her cheeks flushing a light red. "He's cute, kind, relatively smart, and once you've had your shape-shifting friend knock some sense into him, trustworthy and a great guy, too."

_**Change Confessional**_

"MY LIFE IS COMPLETE! WOO-HOO!" Alan cheered happily.

_**End Confessional**_

"Stop it! Stop it!" Chris begged, covering his eyes. "That is the most single disgusting thing I have ever seen! Even Owen farting Beethoven's 5th is beautiful compared to this!"

**(theme song)**

"Good evening, all you bros and brahs out there tonight!" Geoff crowed at the top of his lungs. "Have we got a show for you!"

"Easy there, Geoff. Some of our audience members would like to keep their hearing." Bridgette joked as her boyfriend rolled his eyes and collapsed back on the couch from his victorious and incredibly loud standing position. "But I have to agree with you there; have we got something special for you hungry fans of Total Drama tonight!"

"Not as hungry as Owen! Hey, get back here with that ham!" Alex scolded the rotund giant as the two of them came running across the stage, the entire set bouncing slightly from Owen's sheer weight as he clutched an entire ham in his hands.

"No! I'm hungry!" Owen protested as Alex grabbed hold of one end of the hunk of meat.

"You're supposed to be on a diet!" Alex grunted.

"But I'm hungry! And when Owen get hungry, Owen start eating anything!" Owen whined.

Geoff shivered. "Dude, let him have the ham; the last time Owen got hungry, it wasn't pretty."

"Why? What happened?" Alex asked, losing his grip on the ham just before Owen gave a massive pull of the piece of meat and pulled it into his embrace, kissing it lovingly before retreating to the peanut gallery and sitting on the edge of the top row, tilting the entire seat downwards in his direction and forcing the contestants sitting with him down onto him.

"Trust me when I say you don't want to know." Bridgette replied as she tried to comfort Geoff; her boyfriend had curled up into a tight ball and was rocking back and forth as he sucked his thumb, horrifying memories coming back to him.

"Fine." Alex grumbled before he was suddenly doused with a bucket of ice cold water from above. "What the- Mortisha, we've been over this! The ice bucket was only for the last episode!"

"I thought we were doing the ALS Challenge!" Mortisha protested from the labyrinth of catwalks above.

"That's a lie, and you know it!" Alex yelled.

"Why don't you come up here and prove it?" Mortisha taunted.

"No thanks. I'd like to keep my teeth." Alex flinched before making his way back into the wings and passing Tajira as she kept Sasquatchanakwa from going on stage, threatening to beat the large ape over the head with his own guitar if he didn't back off; Chef, wearing his security officer's uniform was louging in an office chair a couple feet away, grinning deviously as he watched his new 'assitant' handle things while he sat back and relaxed.

"If getting the dirt on the latest eliminated contestants isn't enough to satisfy your appetite, we've got some never before seen clips from the show and more of the contestants from the past seasons!" Bridgette announced.

"I still doubt people will want to see me." Eduardo sighed dejectedly.

"Hey, they may not wanna see you, but look at me, people! Ain't I somethin'?" Monique grinned and posed for the camera in her front row seat of the Peanut Gallery next to the emo.

"Yeah, you're something alright." Heather rolled her eyes from the row behind Monique.

"Oh, you wanna go, ya **BEEP!**" Monique growled, turning around in seat to glare down the Queen Bee.

"Hey, hey, hey! Save the violence for later!" Geoff yelled loudly. "Well, since Heather's already made it clear she's here, not like anyone's happy over that," he added under his breath. "We might as well introduce everyone else!"

"From our Total Drama: Island cast, give it up for Owen, Heather, and Courtney!" Bridgette announced, gesturing towards The Party Guy, Queen Bee, and Type A in the Peanut Gallery, the later of three scrambling to the edge of her seat in the hopes of balancing Owen's extreme weight and failing entirely.

"And from our Revenge of the Island cast, we have Scott, Cameron, and . . . wait, where'd Dawn go!?" Geoff wondered. "Security! We got a runner!" he yelled to Tajira.

"I'm right here, silly!" a soft voice giggled; Geoff looked between him and Bridgette and fel out of his seat upon seeing Dawn sitting right next to him, having seemingly popped into existence. "Oh, be happy, Geoff! Other than slight attention issues during season two, you have one of the purest auras I've seen! You two, Bridgette!" she smiled happily.

"Uh, thanks?" Geoff scratched his head as he climbed back into his seat. "And coming all the way from Pahkitew Island, we have Jasmine, Samey, and Max!"

"Uh, it's _Sammy_." Jasmine corrected.

"Right. Sorry."

"How dare you address Evil by his commoner name! You will call Evil 'Master of all things Evil and Diabolical' or face Evil's wrath!" Max protested loudly before Sammy cautiously smacked him upside the head, earning a supporting smile from Jasmine in the first row.

"Anyways," Bridgette coughed. "Lets introduce our next guest and review his time on show."

"Micheal started out as what was probably the strongest contestant Total Drama has ever seen," Geoff began. "With a watch full of an infinite amount of DNA samples, he was able to change his shape into animals that helped him and his team mates through the challenges and all the way up to the merge. It seemed Micheal would be able to easily make his way all the way up to the finale, had it not been for Kiko's sinister scheme and Zelda's brain; together, the two of them created a knock off of Micheal's own Animatrix and ended up turning him into a freak of nature before he was eliminated."

"Our first guest took a cannonball to the stomach and got his hulking behind kicked by a nerd-" Bridgette started

"Hey!" Cameron protested as Scott snickered; Dawn frowned at him

"Please welcome, Micheal!" she announced; the audience and cheered and applauded, but Micheal had yet to appear.

"Uh, maybe he didn't get the invitation?" Geoff scratched his head.

Bridgette tapped her chin in thought before she remembered something. "I know what'll get him here." she said with a slight smile; Geoff watched with confusion as reached into her cleavage pulled out a small, golden whistle and put it to her lips, blowing a quick burst of air through the instrument and producing a rousing sound of silence.

"Um, was something supposed to happen?" Geoff wondered.

"Wait for it . . ." Bridgette trailed off with a smile; the ceiling suddenly exploded into rubble as a massive monster effortlessly crashed through the ceiling and bellowing loudly as it snapped its cage of teeth open and shut.

"Micheal, everyone!" Geoff cheered as the gigantic collage of animal parts froze on the spot like a deer in front of a car's headlights; Micheal gavve a low growl and glared at Bridgette before reaching with the octopus tentacle jammed onto his shoulder and swiping the whistle away from her before tossing it into his fanged maw and crushing it into small, metal pieces with one movement of his jaws.

"Sorry. But it's in your contract." Bridgette apologized before gesturing to the guest seating area; Micheal growled and begrudgingly sat down, crushing the couch under his bulk as Geoff flinched. "So, Micheal? How do you think the game went for you?"

Micheal's response to screeched loudly as he smashed his tail against the second row of seats behind him, destroying him.

"Um, was that English?" Monique wondered.

"Obviously, his vocal cords shriveled up into nothingness from the Bio-Feedback of the Animatrix." Alex scoffed from off stage; Micheal turned his head and shot out a jet of webbing from his jaws, hitting Alex right in the face and silencing him.

"How is this gonna work if we can't talk to him?" Geoff asked Bridgette.

"Ahem." Dawn spoke up from between the two hosts again, making Bridgette flinch and Geoff fall out of his seat for the second time that evening.

"We've seriously gotta put a bell on her or something!" Geoff exclaimed as Dawn giggled a little and got up from the host's couch, walking over to Micheal and sitting down next to him without being put off by his monstrous figure. "I will translate for Micheal until he can resume his human form."

"Alright." Bridgette shrugged. "So, Micheal? How do you think the game went for you?"

The cobra attached to Micheal's shoulder hissed loudly, opening it jaws to expose a pair of venom dripping fangs as Micheal gave a gutaral growl from his expandable throat. "He says he enjoyed it to start out with before his unfortunate incident occurred."

"And how is that going for you?" Bridgette asked; Micheal bellowed a long, low note in response.

"Micheal says that he has been forced to fight against the forces of the Great Earth Mother; he no longer fits into any normal building." Dawn translated sadly.

"Dude, that sucks! How're ya gonna party without a roof to party under?" Geoff wondered.

"Is there anyone that you felt deserved the money more than you?" Bridgette continued.

Micheal let loose with an ear splitting roar that shook the very foundation of the studio and forced everyone but Dawn to cover their ears from the incredible volume; Owen screamed out in fright and let lose with a cloud of noxious gas, Courtney and Cameron coughing and gagging next to the lovable oaf.

"Micheal says he would like to see his soul mate, Caroline, win the million," Dawn replied. "Really, he couldn't care less about who won; his aura is incredibly clear about that." she added as if it were obvious.

"But of course, there's gotta be one person you wouldn't want to win." Geoff grinned.

"Kiko." Dawn nodded sadly. "I sense her aura is black and gray, a very poor choice of colors; she is incredibly angry and full of dark thoughts, as well as fear." Micheal suddenly sniffed the air curiously, catching everyone's attention as he sniffed around the stage for a few seconds before suddenly freezing still and licking his needle-like teeth with his long tongue; the collage of animal parts suddenly roared and bounded across the stage right at the Peanut Gallery before he bunched up his legs and launched himself over the terrified veterans, tackling an unofrtunate intern as he wheeled a still injured Kiko out on stage.

"Micheal! You must let go of your troubled emotions!" Dawn pleaded. "You must feel release!"

"How dare you threaten to pounce on Evil!" Max yelled. "You will rue the day you threatened Evil! RU- gack!" Max suddenly gagged as Micheal's prehensile tail wrapped tightly around the self proclaimed evil genius's throat and silenced him as he effortlessly lifted Max into the air as he pinned Kiko dug under his claws.

"Dude, get your freaking tail outta my face!" Scott snapped angrily before Micheal whipped his head around and snapped his own jaws shut just an inch from Scott's face, giving him a very good look at his gigantic fangs. "Never mind!" Scott squeaked as he dove beneath the seat.

"Uh, while we try to get Micheal back under control, enjoy everyone's favorite segment, 'That's Gonna Leave a Mark'!" Geoff announced as Dawn took to beating Micheal's head with her small fists, barely getting the massive monster's attention as Kiko screamed bloody murder as best as she could.

* * *

><p>"No, no it's not!" Trey snapped. "And besides, even if they do get buried, Toni can always turn into a mole or something and dig her way out." he added before he thrust his hand down across the strings of his guitar just as he inhaled a deep breath and sent both screaming out as loud as possible, aiming towards the top of the mountain. Alan and Zelda covered their ears as snow from both sides of the pass started to tumble down in a heavy avalanche, rushing right at the polar bear and Paul and swallowing the both of them without effort.<p>

"Now lets get a move on before they dig themselves out!" Trey yelled, turning on his heel and rushiong through the snow towards the river with Alan and Zelda on his heels.

* * *

><p>Micheal decided it was the right time to beat a hasty retreat and jogged away as fast he could, not even bothering to look behind him as the air shimmered and gave away to Shawn; the Zombie Conspiracy Nut was dressed in a yellow, pinstripe suit with a match tie and fancy, black shoes on his feet. A mask obscured his face as he clenched his grip on his pistol, imaging a bullet going through Micheal's head.<p>

"That's for killing the love of my life, you undead freak!" he cried. The sound of slow, calm footsteps followed by slow clapping caught his attention and he whirled around to see none other than Paul standing there, wearing an identical outfit to him, with the only exception being the main color was green.

"So, it seems I am not the only Spy, hmm?" Paul snarked in his French accent.

"It would seem so." Shawn frown, lacking the fancy accent his counterpart possessed.

"You do know I can not allow you to win, hmm?" Paul cocked an eyebrow, lighting a cigar and placing it between his lips as he twirled his butterfly knife around in his fingers.

"Wouldn't expect any less." Shawn gritted his teeth before screaming at the top of his lungs and lunging at Paul, hellbent on cutting him to little pieces; Paul merely dropped to the floor as Shawn passed overhead and popped back to his feet, grabbing Shawn's outstretched arm and twisting it behind his back, stopping him in his tracks. The Zombie Conspiracy Nut struggled before swiping at Paul's wrist with his butterfly knife, forcing the spy to let him go.

Now seriously annoyed, Paul lashed out with a leg and swept Shawn's feet out from under him, sending him to the floor with Paul tackled him. The two spies rolled around on the floor for several minutes, Shawn eventually managing to wrap his hands around Paul's throat and throttle him until Paul managed to knee him in his nether regions, forcing Shawn to let go. The GRN spy then roughly grabbed Shawn by the shoulders and slammed him into the weak, wooden wall next to him, whipping out his butterfly knife and holding it to Shawn's throat.

"See you in **BEEP!**" Paul grinned as he pulled his arm to slice the blade across Shawn's throat. At the last second, Shawn rammed his head into Paul's nose, sending the knife flying into the air and otno the floor where it clattered out of reach. With a yell, furious that his nose had been broken, Paul slugged Shawn in the face before driving a fist into his gut and then giving him a swift upper cut when the YLW spy's head bent down. With a final yell, Paul lashed out with his leg once more and kicked Shawn in the face, sending him right through the wall where he fell out into the open air and slammed into the concrete wall of the canal and dropped down into the murky water below.

* * *

><p>With a sudden scream, Alan rushed at Micheal and slammed his entire body into the Pabaisanite with as much force as he could muster, sending the two of them stumbling back towards the gaping hole in the wall. Unable to see where he was going, Micheal tripped over Caroline's fallen form and tumbled out of the massive hole in the wall, Cameron managing to grip the edge with his fingers at the last second as Micheal painfully crashed right through the bridge that stretched across the canal and landed in the muddy water below.<p>

"Well played, Cam. Well played." was the last thing Cameron heard Micheal say before he went under; he did not resurface.

* * *

><p>"And we're back! Hopefully with things under control now." Geoff said nervously as he stole a glance at Micheal as he begrudgingly sat on the floor with Dawn sitting on his shoulder, continuously stroking his head to keep him calm as a pair of parimedics wheeled Kiko and Max off stage.<p>

"REVENGE! Evil will have his revenge!" Max screamed angrily. "Ow, so much hurting!"

Heather, who was about to make some snide and rude comment about keeping the monster before them in chains, decided against it after taking a good look at Micheal's gigantic teeth and watching him taking a couch leg between his Nisilaha fingers and crush it effortlessly into padding and stuffing after taking Dawn's advice about trying to relieve himself of stress.

"Is Micheal calm enough for us to continue?" Bridgette asked Dawn.

"As long as no one brings up anything about his condition, he should be fine." she replied as Micheal let out a low growl. "He's also wondering if you have any food."

"Did someone say food?" Owen paused in midbite, just about to feast on the whole ham he had managed to save from the beginning of the episode; Micheal shifted suddenly and rose his head up to open his jaws and shoot out a jet of webbing that firmly latched onto the edge of the ham clear across the stage before he jerked it back with a swift movement of his head and swallowed the entire whole, bone and all.

"Nooooooooo!" Owen wailed, starring at his hands in horror as Micheal let out a loud belch.

"You may proceed." Dawn giggled slightly at Owen's expression.

Bridgette nodded. "Our next guest is often mistaken for a girl and comes all the way from Deutschland itself! Please welcome Mitchell!" the surfer announced, clapping and giving a warm smile as Mitchell peeked out from behind the curtain at the audience before suddenly being kicked all the way across the stage from behind by Chef; Micheal suddenly lashed out his elastic tentacle and hooked it around Mitchell's foot, dragging him all the way back to the guest seating unharmed.

"Thanks, dude." Mitchell breathed a sigh of relief before he 'carelessly' threw a small fireball over his shoulder at the burly cook, smirking when a high pitched, girl-like scream echoed across the set. "Something tells me Chef's nuggets are cooked."

"Nice one, bro!" Geoff grinned, high-fiving the pyro. "So how'd you think your time on the show was?"

Mitchell shrugged. "It wasn't great, it wasn't horrible." he replied.

"Is there anyone in particular that you're rooting for?" Bridgette asked.

Mitchell shrugged once more, his eyes flashing a bright yellow in color as his skin began to crackle and bubble, like that of molten lava. It turned hard and black like stone, as the skin between the magma rocks glowed red hot. Smoke started to curl off of Mitchell's hair before it suddenly burst into flames. Courtney gasped as the magma rocks quickly raced up Mitchell's arms to consume his body, racing down his legs and over his chest as red hot magma filled in the cracks between them. "No one really. If I had to pick someone though, I'd go for either Anuok or Caroline."

"Um, excuse me, but I'd like to report a fire hazard?" Courtney spoke up.

"Fire hazard? Where?" Mitchell asked.

"You, you moron!" Courtney screamed angrily.

"For your imformation, I have complete and total control over my powers. I can burn stuff, only or certain CIT's if I want to." Mitchell threatened; Courtney wisely decided to clam up for once and sit back down in her seat.

"What, in your opinion, was the most painful part of your time on show?" Geoff asked.

"Hmmm. Tough one, considering it's Chris we're talking about here." Mithcell hummed, tapping his flaming chin with a smoldering finger in thought. "If I had to chose- will you stop that!?" Mitchell suddenly yelled, whirling around to scold Mortisha as she roasted a marshmallow over his flaming head.

"I wanted smores!" Mortisha pouted. "I was planning on making my family recipe of Grasshopper Smores!"

Only Owen seemed remotely interested in this as the others groaned and held their stomaches while the loveable oaf quickly waddled across the stage and grabbed a fistful or marshmallows before tossing them into his mouth as he stabbed another one on one of the roasting sticks Mortisha had brought and roasted it over Mitchell's head; the pyro sighed and surrendered as he continued. "Probably the time I got attacked by a dozen alligators."

"I think we have a clip about that." Geoff rubbed his chin before a finger to his ear. "Wait, we do? Alright then! Role film!" he yelled as everyone but Mortisha and an all too eager Owen turned their attention to the large TV screen overhead.

* * *

><p>Rising out of the water in a perfect circle around him and the cannon were at least a dozen alligators, all looking exceptionally hungry and nasty today. Several licked their chops as they imagined dining on the small boy in front of them as he lit a hand ablaze. With any luck they would be eating their dinner cooked for once. Mitchell, not one to actually want to be eaten by alligators, decided to forgo the warning he had told himself and let a ball of fire form in his hand. He slung in angrily at an alligator, hitting it square in the face and sending it crashing through a mangrove tree. One down, eleven to go. Then, as one, the alligators attacked! Their jaws snapping shut like bear traps, they rushed him, their reptilian bodies churning the murky water of the swamp in froth as they lunged at Mitchell, pulling him under the water. Bubbles floated to the surface as one, two alligators were set back, but Mitchell did not surface. Another alligator was sent through a row of mangrove of trees and out of the fight, but Mitchell still hadn't risen, and the bubbles were becoming less and less frequent until they stopped all together.<p>

* * *

><p>"Ooh! That's gotta hurt!" Geoff flinched.<p>

"You have no idea." Mitchell grumbled. "At least rocks detere alligators pretty well."

"Glad to see that you're alright," Bridgette smiled. "Our next two guests both found love in a seemingly hopeless competition and ended up annoying Chris to the very end. Give it up for Trey and Alan, everyone!"

The audience cheered and applauded as Trey came sliding down on his knees across the stage, wailing away on his guitar in triumph as Alan simply walked out from the wings, flinching when he saw Sasquatchanakwa attempt to get back onstage with his own guitar and play a duet with Trey before Tajira beat him back.

"Thank you, Aftermath! Good night!" Trey crowed as he threw the 'hang loose' sign with his fingers while Alan winced and covered his ears, immediately brightening up when he caught sight of Dawn sitting on Micheal's shoulder; the ex-pervert eagerly sat on the remains of the couch next to her as Trey hunkered down in the row of seats behind Micheal.

"I take it you're enjoying life outside of the competition, dudes?" Geoff smirked.

"You have no idea." Trey grinned, leaning back in his seat. "Ever since I got home I-"

"BANZI!" Mortisha screamed as she divebombed Trey from above and came crashing down onto his lap, knocking the wind out of him as he whimpered like an injured puppy.

"Why is it always the kiwis?" he gasped.

"I feel your pain, dude." Owen shivered through a mouthful of marshmallows. "What scares me even more is how faster your girlfriend disappeared when she heard you were coming on next."

"She's not my- oh, wait. She is." Trey realized before Mortisha blushed, turning her nearly white skin a light shade of pink as she grabbed Trey's face and began kissing him feverishly, something that Trey quickly learned to just go along with.

"Well, it looks like we won't be getting anything out of Trey for a while." Geoff smirked with amusement. "Remember when we use to do that, babe?"

"Ah, good times." Bridgette joked with a roll of her eyes. "So, Alan? Seeing as we won't be able to ask Trey anything any time soon, how about we start with you?"

"Sure." Alan shrugged. "I'm game."

"Alright, dude." Geoff began. "If you could only have one regret about your performance on show, what would it be?"

Alan thought it over before Micheal gave a low growl from his throat theat revrebrated throughout his entire body. "Oh, yeah. I almost forgot." he chuckled.

"You actually understand that thing?" Courtney scoffed; Micheal opened up his jaws and shot out a jet of webbing at Courtney's face, silencing her as she gave muffled screams and yelps while she attempted to get the silk off of her face.

"Easy, Micheal. Remember, find your center and let the Great Earth Mother guide you." Dawn calmed him down.

"What I was going to say before I was interrupted was that I regret acting so much like a peeping tom during my first few challenges." Alan replied. "I focused more on getting a better view of seeing things that shouldn't be seen instead of focusing on competing."

"I am happy you're feeling sorry for your previous actions." Dawn smiled; Alan blushed slightly.

"But despite being beaten to pulp by Micheal, getting told off by Zelda over and over again, and nearly getting eaten or crushed several times, it was all worth it, wasn't it?" Bridgette smiled.

"You have no idea." Alan sighed dreamily. "I found the love of my life."

"I hear that, dude." Geoff nodded with a grin as he put an arm around Bridgette's shoulders and held her close she blushed and hugged him happily; the audience cooed at the sight while Courtney continued to try and free herself from Micheal's sticky trap.

"Ugh, someone gag me." Monique scoffed; Micheal promptly shot another jet of webbing at her, giving a toothy grin upon receiving the glare from Monique as she attempted to get the webbing out of her teeth like Courtney was.

"Mind hitting me? Preferably my nose so that I can die from lack of oxygen?" Eduardo asked.

"Wow, way to kill the mood, Ink Blot." Scott frowned.

"As if you care." Heather rolled her eyes.

"Meh. True," Scott shrugged. "But if the kid wants to die that badly, he should just take a job as an intern for Chris."

"Don't give him any ideas, Scott!" Dawn pleaded as Bridgette, Geoff, and most of the Peanut Gallery looked horrified; Sammy huddled closer to Jasmine for comfort. "Working for Chris McLean is a fate worse than death!"

"Agreed." Bridgette nodded. "So, Trey? Do you have anything you want to say?" she asked the musician, only to find him still liplocked with Mortisha and completely oblivious to everything around him. "Um, okay? Well, I think that's all the time we have for tonight."

"Wait!" Dawn spoke up.

"Ah, c'mon, bra! We're on a time limit here!" Geoff sighed.

"I'm sorry, but this really can't wait." Dawn shook her head as she jumped back down to the ground and turned to face the hulking monstrosity before her. "Micheal, I can't help you any further if you don't contribute."

Micheal hissed loudly in response.

"You need to let all of your tension and stress out; you will not be able to change back if you have all this pent up rage inside of you." the Moonchild scolded him. Micheal seemed ready to protest when he caught sight of her stern glare; if looks could kill, Micheal would have been little more than a pile of ashes. With a sigh, the collage of animal parts closed all of his eyes and concentrated slowly on his form, his entire frame shaking and trembling slightly.

His long, prehensile tail cracked and splintered horribly as it slurped back up into his spine like a piece of spaghetti as the massive octopus tentacle on Micheal's left shoulder withered and deflated very much like a balloon before slithering back into his shoulder; the cobra thrashed about madly as it hissed and spat venom before it was suddenly engulfed in a flash of red light, disappearing back into the Animatrix as the transformation sped up. The grizzly bear claws that sat on the end of each of his strong fingers shrank and dulled back into regular fingernails as Micheal's arms shriveled and shrank a little while as the Titanite blades that poked almost painfully out of his arms were swallowed by flashes of red light, revealing pale, pink skin; the transformation was getting faster now as body parts began to disappear in more bursts of red light, the lion mane shriveling into dust as the gigantic pair of bat wings jamming out of Micheal's back were encompassed in a burst of red light while the elephant tusks that tore out of Micheal's teeth withdrew back into his skull. The Golpgusanus spikes that popped out at random intervals on his back shriveled and dried out like dying plants before falling off as the bull horns were pushed back into Micheal's head. His teeth cracked and ground in a sickening manner as they became flatter and more cubed in shape before his entire body was swallowed in a flash of red light.

By the time the explosion had clamed down, Micheal was down on his knees on the floor, breathing heavily as he looked over himself; he now had ten fingers instead of claws, ten toes instead of sharp talons, thirty two flat, grinding teeth instead of razor sharp needles. Everything was finally back to how it should have been as Micheal took a glance at the powerful device strapped to his wrist before it gave a final blink of red light and died away, falling into recharge mode.

"I hope you have found peace within." Dawn smiled.

"Peace within?" Owen gulped a mouthful of marshmallows; Mitchell was starting to lose his patience. "Does that mean I can eat some more?"

"You eating disorder derives from the fact that you feel awkward and unloved around your fellow man," Dawn shook her head sadly. "You must come to terms with yourself. As well as go on a diet."

Owen blinked for a second before breaking down. "It's all true! It's all

so true!" Owen wailed as he fell on his knees and threw himself down on the ground. "I never know what to say in everyday conversation and I feel like everyone is just tolerating me!" he cried.

"No way, dude!" Geoff protested. "Your awesome, man! You know how to party!"

"You always listen to anything we have to say." Bridgette smiled. "When food's not involved."

"Your trust worthy, mate, and everyone seriously likes you." Jasmine added. "I've never specifically met you, and I can say that about you."

"Even

you tolerate me." Sammy added with shame and a small hint of a smile.

"And you can burp the ABCs." Micheal added as he climbed to his feet. "I'm not if that's relavent or not, but it's definitely worth noting. And dude, I respect you for it." he smiled, clapping the loveable oaf on the shoulder before he squealed and grabbed both Micheal and Dawn into a bone crushing hug as he sobbed happily.

"If I wasn't . . . currently being threatened with . . . passing out from lack of oxygen . . . I would kiss you right now." Micheal gasped for breath.

"Now what . . . would Caroline . . . say?" Dawn managed to say with a red face and small smile on her lips.

"Can I get on some of that? The lung crushing thing, not the kissing thing." Eduardo corrected when he received odd looks from the other contestants.

"Well, that's all the time we have for tonight!" Geoff closed off. "Tune in next time for another insane episode of Total! Drama! Pahkitew's Vengeance!" he declared loudly just as the Sasquatchanakwa came sliding out on stage wailing away on his guitar; Tajira and Chef were duct taped to an office chair in the wings, struggling against their bonds as the large ape appeased to his audience.

"This show just gets weirder and weirder." Alex sighed as he attempted to get the two members of security free.

**And there we go, ladies and gentlemen.**

**As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!**

**To borrow some words from Trey, "GOOD NIGHT, FANFICTION!"**

**Hasta Luego!**


	17. The Shuffling Dead

**And here we are again! Welcome back, I hope you have missed me!**

**In addition to working on my other stories and taking a vacation, I have been reading this wonderful story by _Sarcasm is a Habit _called _Total Drama: Unfinished Business_. Call it shameless advertising, but it really is a good read. If you've enjoyed _The Kobold Necromancer's _works, then you should love this.**

**As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!**

**Onwards!**

"Last time on Total Drama: Pahkitew's Vengeance!" Chris annouced. "We dumped our contestants in the frozen arctic tundra! While we were _hoping _for someone go crazy and try to climb inside someone else's carcass for warmth, what followed was amusing nonetheless. The gal pals Caroline and Maurananei managed to avoid elimination while simoutaniously rescuing Zelda from becoming a popsicle, Trey introduced some foul play, and Wilson some even fouler! Or was it his alternate personality, Serphonus? In the end, both Trey and Alan were eliminated, though Alan didn't leave without a little . . . _present._" Chris frowned, shuddering at the memory.

Chris quickly resumed a wide grin. "We're nearing the end, people, and we've got seven competitors remaining! How long will be before we're down to six? Will Serphonus's cover be blown? And will I be stuck hosting reality TV for the rest of my life?" Chris listed off. "Find out now, on Total! Drama! Pahkitew's Vengeance!"

_**(theme song plays)**_

Caroline stiffened and inhaled sharply as she stretched, her vision blurry and hazy as she slowly woke up. The air was hot and muggy against her skin, and her hair was greasy against her scalp; she yawned and stretched, wondering where she was. It wasn't until she heard a loud snore like that of a large bull with a stuffed nose did she looked up and see Maurananei holding onto her like a child would to a teddy bear did she vaguely remember what happened; it wasn't until a loud snore like that of an elephant with an allergy problem shook her entire body did she remember entirely remember what happen.

Last night, after Trey and Alan's elimination, the contestants had stayed up late watching horror movies, everything from vengeful poltergeists and cybernetic ghosts to mutant aliens and rotting zombies; the zombies in particular had scared Caroline witless, and she was sure she was going to have a rough night's sleep until Maurananei offered to spend the night with her in the swamp she had made her temporary home in with Larry. At first, Caroline had found it a little nerve racking to be sleeping on top of a gigantic, mutant plant in the embrace of her best friend, but had quickly gotten over it when she realized how safe she felt; not many people could say they were friends with an ex-criminal and her monstrous plant, and she was quite certain they could fully protect her against anything Chris or any other natural force the world had to offer could throw at her.

"Morning, Maurananei." Caroline squeaked when her friend finally woke up.

"Morning, kid." Maurananei yawned, tasting her own morning breath as she sleepily scratched herself; a fly absentmindedly flew into her mouth and down Maurananei's throat, with the ex-criminal ignoring the taste of the insect in her mouth. "Sleep well?"

"I guess." Caroline shrugged. "The swamp smell took some getting use to."

"Smells like home." Maurananei waved it off. "The alleys and rooftops of France are not exactly something to admire."

"Okay . . ." Caroline trailed off uncomfortably. "You ready for today's challenge?"

"As long as it doesn't involve zombies, I'm good." Caroline shivered.

* * *

><p>Toni blinked and looked at her surroundings, taking note of the soda stained embedded deep into the carpet and many open bags of chips scattered about, their contents piled in heaping messes; on the walls were spots of frosting and dried soda, the large flatscreen TV cracked in the upper left hand with the words 'Game Over' blinking on a black background. She felt the surface underneath her suddenly rise sharply and looked down to see herself curled up like a cat on Paul's chest, her nails dug deep into his shirt and skin.<p>

"Morning, babe." he choked, trying to sound like he wasn't in pain. "I like being this close to my girlfriend as the next guy, but could you kindly remove your claws from my chest?"

"Sorry." Toni apologized as she released him and took the seat next to him on the couch.

"That was some wild night, eh?" Paul joked. "I'm glad we aren't cleaning this mess up." he said after noticing the state of the Hangout of Awesomeness.

"I warned you against giving me too much sugar." Toni shook her head. "When I get to hyperactive, I tend to lose control of myself and start switching from one animal form to the next until I crash."

"I'll keep that in mind when this game is over." Paul grunted as he hauled himself off the couch and stretched, wincing at the cracking of his bones.

"You really believe we'll still be together?" Toni asked, her mocha skin flushing a warm mahogony as Paul grinned and took her in a warm embrace.

"You know it, babe." he smiled, kissing her on the forehead. "One way or another, you'll come to me and I'll come to you. Heck, you could probably turn into a homing piegon and find me in no time!" he joked; Toni blushed again and started peppering him with kisses, trackling him to the ground with a the prowess of a hungry lioness.

* * *

><p>"I, am beginning to lose my patience!" Chris announced angrily.<p>

"Um, Chris? We're all right here." Zelda informed him; all seven of the remaining contestants were lined up in front of the outdoor stage where the Virtual Reality machine was located, awaiting use.

"I wasn't talking about that, Ms. Make-a-faulty-Animatrix-and-blow-up-my-Island!" Chris frowned as Zelda shrank back at the insult. "I was talking about how long this season is taking! I have a limited amount of vacation days people, and you're eating them up!"

"Someone missed their morning coffee today." Maurananei grumbled; Anuok scribbled something on her notepad and handed it to Maurananei to read. "Oh, the coffee machine's broken?" she read off.

"Don't even get me started on that!" Chris snapped angrily, making Caroline hide behind Maurananei for cover. "Everything is falling apart around here because of you freaks!"

"How about you stop right there, and we don't tear you apart and beat your lifeless corpse with your own arms and legs?" Maurananei threatened as Toni let lose a feral growl from her throat that sent shivers down Chris's spine as he instinctively jumped back with fright.

"Alright, alright!" he cried as he recomposed himself. "Today's challenge is yet another virtual reality challenge. Meaning, nothing you do could _possibly _damage anything I own!"

"Except his ego and dignity." Paul mumbled to Toni, a deep smirk crossing both of their faces.

Chris frowned and bit back the rude comment he was about to spit out; appearing too cruel and harsh towards the contestants, no matter how annoying they got or how much they drived him crazy, would ruin his image and thus either get him fired from the job he loved so much or stuck on the show for the rest of his career without any chance of moving on to bigger and greater things. "_Anyway_, your challenge today is to survive the zombie apocalypse!"

_**Confessional**_

"I swear, he's doing this just to torture me!" Caroline cried.

_**Change Confessional**_

"A zombie apocalypse, eh?" Serphonus scratched his chin darkly. "Sounds like the perfect time to mess with people." he chuckled deviously.

_**End Confessional**_

Chris grinned upon seeing several frightened and nervous faces, as well as a few excited faces and even one very disturbing look on Maurananei's face that sent a shiver up Chris's spine. "Yep! Today you'll be fighting your way through hordes of the undead, all in a desperate battle for survival!"

"Yes!" Maurananei pumped her fist. "Please let there be a zombie Chris!"

"If I may ask, _why _are you so intent on ruining my beautiful face?" Chris asked.

Anuok sighed, rolled her eyes, and then made a series of rapid hand gestures, a few of which looked to be very rude in origin; when no one seemed to understand what she was saying, she pulled out her notepad and scribbled something down on it before handing it to Zelda to read.

"You're kidding, right?" Zelda read off. "And that's just the uncensored version, too. Where did you even _learn _these words?" she asked Anuok as a creepy smile crossed the mute girl's face.

"Alright then." Chris clapped his hands, bringing the attention back to him. "Your challenge will be to battle your way through the abandoned, zombie-infested city we have set up for you until you get to the top of Hatchet Hospital, and signal a helicoptor for help; the winner will be allowed to bring another competitor of their choice into the Hangout of Awesomeness." **[1]**

"He is getting dangerously close to copy right infringement." Paul whispered to Maurananei as the host continued on.

"You can go it solo or work together as a team, and you _are _allowed to kill each other if you want to." Chris chuckled deviously. "And for added horror and shock, some of our undead friends will be zombie versions of you and the contestants you have voted off this season!" he cackled as a couple contestants gasped.

_**Confessional**_

"Lets see, which zombie version of a contestant would I be utterly terrified to meet?" Paul tapped his chin. "Micheal."

_**Change Confessional**_

"Are zombies fire proof?" Zelda gulped. "Because I am _not_ looking forward to facing off against zombie Mitchell."

_**Change Confessional**_

"Why does Chris insist on being so mean!?" Caroline wailed, curling up into a tight ball and hugging herself out of fear. "It was bad enough that I was terrified of Micheal before, but now I'll never be able to look at him the same way again!"

_**End Confessional**_

"Now for this game, we're going to do a combination of video game and movie rules," Chris explained. "If you get bitten by a zombie, you have a limited amount of time before you are turned into a zombie; there are medical supplies hidden throughout the city that will heal you should you get bitten. Upon dying, you will come back as a zombie and be able to terrorize your fellow competitors until someone wins. First person to signal the helicoptor, wins immunity." Chris concluded. "Any questions?"

"I-Is it s-safe?" Caroline whimpered.

"Of course!" Chris promised. "But if you don't believe me, ask our zombie lunatic, Shawn what he thinks!" Chris grinned, jerking a thumb behind him towards the virtual reality machine where Shawn was currently sitting and playing.

"N-no! Get away! Get away!" he screamed as he began to thrash about in his chair. "Jasmine, please! Don't do it! Don't do it! Jasmine! JASMINE! AAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHH!" Shawn screamed at the top of his lungs as he tore the helmet off of his head and broke out of the restraints as he launched himself from the machine and at Chris.

"You . . . you monster!" he yelled as he tackled Chris to the ground and began to throttle him. "How dare you turn my girlfriend into a zombie!? Who does that kinda thing!?" he howled as Chef lumbered up to him and pried him off of the host before slinging him over his shoulder and making his way over to the docks as Shawn whimpered and held himself.

"See? Completely safe!" Chris grinned as he picked himself up and dusted himself off. "Now get in there and start slaying some zombies! And remember: if you have to go out, do it with guns a blazin'." he nodded his head as the contestants shared nervous looks with each other.

* * *

><p>Maurananei blinked as she looked at her surroundings, taking note of the sickly, yellow shade of the sky and the derelict remains of the city around her; towering skyscrapers scrapped against the poisoned sky, most of their windows smashed out or overgrown by strangling vines draped with moss while other had simply collapsed, blocking off entire roads with their rubble and remains as abandoned, rusted cars lay destroyed and crushed against each other, as if they had been hastily deserted for some reason. A few crows could be heard through the desolate remains of the once proud city, ocassionally diving down from the skies to peck and feed upon the few corpses that remained from the hordes and feral dogs.<p>

"Pfft. I've seen worse." Maurananei scoffed when she felt a sudden weight in her hands. Looking down, she found that she was carrying a massive minigun in her hands with a large, black barrel that looked ready to gun down any undead that got too close. "This is gonna be fun." she grinned.

"At least you got a weapon." Zelda sighed. "Funny how popular zombie media is, considering they really are nothing more than reanimated corpses. There are so many zombie movies out there, they can actually be considered a separate genre of horror."

"Fascinating." Maurananei rolled her eyes as she hefted her minigun onto her shoulder. "Now either shut up and start walking, or grab something to use those martial arts skills of yours for something other than beating your boyfriend's face in."

"Hey, I only did that when he was a pervert!" Zelda protested as she grabbed hold of an old, lead pipe about as long as she wa tall. "It's not like you did any better when you were stalking Ch-"

Maurananei whirled around and pointed the barrel of her minigun at Zelda's face, a low growl escaping her lips. "Don't. Say. That name." she hissed. "_Ever._"

"Touchy, are we?" Zelda squeaked, not daring to move a muscle with such a weapon pointed at her.

Maurananei didn't say something as she glared at Zelda with a hard look before finally relaxing about three hairs and withdrawing the weapon to heft it onto her shoulder and begin walking again. "C'mon. We gotta find Caroline."

"Why?" Zelda asked. "Wouldn't be more efficient for the two of us to just run to the hospital and take out the other contestants so one of us gets immunity?"

"Maybe." Maurananei shrugged. "But I'm not about to let my friend get slaughtered simply because she can't defend herself like I can."

"I never took you for the friendly type." Zelda remarked.

"And just what's that supposed to mean?" Maurananei growled again, her fingers twitching on her minigun.

"You just seem to really hate the world." Zelda explained. "Ever since you came here, you've threatened to kill Chris at least twelve times; I swear that death glare of yours alone gives him nightmares."

"Hope so." Maurananei grumbled under her breath; she looked back to see Zelda watching her with an expecting and calculating look. "You really wanna know why I'm like this? Why I seem to hate everything and everyone?"

"It would at least make our temporary team up more effective."

"Why do you think this is a team up?" Maurananei raised an eyebrow.

"If it wasn't, you would have mowed me down with that monster of yours already." Zelda pointed out.

"Fair enough," Maurananei sighed as she climbed up onto the hood of an abandoned car, launching herself across the roofs of several more cars with Zelda in tow before they finally managed to overcome the barrier of rubble blocking their way. "I was born in Paris, France. Nice country, I suppose." she began. "I never knew my real parents; I was kidnapped by some gang on the streets and stolen away from my Mom and Dad before I got to know them. Only, the idiots got the wrong baby, and left me to die and rot on the streets; except I didn't. I grew up knowing no right from wrong, knowing no boundaries as I commited crime after crime after crime, everything from robbery and vandalism to even a few spouts of murder before I was even ten. I was eventually caught and taken in my a police officer who took pity on me and tried to raise me properly." she concluded. "He did a real half baked job at that, considering I'm banned from ever crossing over German borders."

"You got banned from Germany?" Zelda raised an eyebrow.

"It's not something I'm proud of, alright?" Maurananei snarled. "And now I'll never get a taste at that sweet beer again . . ."

Zelda went silent as she contemplated whether Caroline knew who she was friends with or not.

* * *

><p>Caroline awoke with a start, panting heavily as she looked around at her surroundings, gulping nervously when she found she didn't recognize anything; she was in a room of some kind, with white wash walls with white tile floors and a window that was riddled with cracks from the lower left corner, as if something had smashed into the glass pane. Looking to her left, she found a dead monitor and empty IV bag, the needle still dripping with liquid and pooling on the floor.<p>

"A hospital," Caroline breathed. "I'm in a hospital." **[2]**

Normally, this would have been wonderful news to Caroline; she could have spawned in Hatchet Hospital, but she somehow sensed that she wasn't even close. Some sort of chilling feeling shivered up her spine, filling her with dread as she climbed off of the hospital bed and set her feet onto the floor; she could feel the coldness through her shoes. With goosebumps on her skin, she walked out of the room, wondering where she was and how she could get out.

"Hello?" she called out, her voice sounding small and insignitficant in the empty hallways of the hospital. She gulped when she was met with nothing but silence, the few lights that still worked flickering on and off as if they were slowly dying.

A sudden scraping noise caught Caroline's attention, and she looked down the hallway in the direction the noise was coming from and immediately felt her breath catch in her throat; standing at the ewnd of the hallway was a zombie, drool dripping from its lose jaws. Rotting, bloodied flesh clung to his skeletal figure as the rags of the previous members clothes hung off of him in shreds, his lifeless, hollow eyes starrig out at the world with hunger.

"N-n-nice z-zombie." Caroline trembled, hoping the walking corpse hadn't seen or heard her. The zombie grunted and turned its head to look at her, snarling as it suddenly shot off down the hallway at her with surprising speed; Caroline screamed and dove into the room across the hallway, the zombie right on her heels as she dove across the empty hospital bed and used it like a shield for the savage zombie.

_**Confessional**_

"Funny thing about being in life threatening situations," Caroline chuckled sheepishly. "You'd be surprised at what people can do."

_**End Confessional**_

With a yell, she grabbed an IV stand and swung it like a baseball bat, the wheels catching on the zombie's bony neck and jaw and lifting him up into the air where Caroline then hurled it and the IV out of the window; her heart was still racing as she watched the zombie plummet to the road before, screeching horribly before it smashed against the pavement into a bloodied pulp.

"Glad I'm not him." Caroline breathed with relief.

It was then that she heard more scraping and shuffling noises in the hospital, accompanied by low groans and snarls as a toxic odor plunged itself deep into her lungs. "Oh, crap." Caroline whimpered as she rushed out of the room to see several zombies gathering at the end of the hallway with hungry looks in their eyes; one of the zombies looked vaguely familiar with dark, brown hair ocassionally broken by curly, caramel streaks.

"Mitchell." Caroline whispered.

Zombie Mitchell growled loudly as a stream of fire came streaming out of his jaws, exploding on the floor at Caroline's feet; she screamed and turned tail to run, the horde of zombies giving chase after her with Mitchell's zombified corpse at the lead, taking fiery pot shots at her.

"Why did I sign up for this show!?" Caroline screamed.

* * *

><p>Paul looked around at his surroundings, grunting with annoyance when he noticed that he was in what seemed to be an old, abandoned warehouse; most of the large windows on either side of him were shattered or stained brown with mysterious stains that smelled absolutely horrible, and the back was completely blown out and caved in, allowing a chilling breeze to blow through and into the empty, metal shell of the warehouse. "Well, if this isn't a tad cliché." he grumbled.<p>

"At least we're together." Toni smiled as she walked from behind a stack of crates, a crowbar in her hands. "Not sure why this is of any use to me though." she shrugged, tossing it to Paul to use.

"Cool. I'm double armed." he grinned as he spun a pistol around in his fingers, taking note of the clattering sound of bullets in his pockets. "Team up until we get to the roof?"

"Definitely." Toni nodded. "If you'll give me a second, I think I can get us there faster." she added while she concentrated on an image in her head. Her back and body swelled with muscle and tissue, her shirt starting to tear as her body became bigger and bigger with muscle and fat until she made Paul look like a tennis ball compared to a pumpkin. A short layer of fuzz sprouted all over her body and now made her look like a walking hair as her skull ground and cracked while it was forced forward into a long muzzle that her teeth quickly filled, their numbers increasing thirty-two to about ten more, razor-sharp teeth perfectly designed for cutting into and tearing off strips of meat. Her fingernails grew to a wicked length until they were as long as pencil's as the bottom of her palms became leathery pads. Her ears rotated to the top of her head as her entire body flashed a creamy white as the last few hundred pounds packed down onto her, finishing the transformation.

"This is so bad ass." Paul grinned as he climbed onto the massive polar bear's back. Toni let out a loud roar and barreled up the ramp of rubble at the back of the warehouse and into the open air, roaring once more as Paul fired off a victory shot.

Unfortunately, the resulting fire caught the attention of every zombie in the harbor; before long, the two of them were surrounded by zombies on all sides, saliva dripping from their jaws as flesh hung off their bloodied bones, an awful smell filling the air. With a yell, Paul launched himself off of Toni's back and straight at a zombie, kicking off its head with one swift movement of his foot before he swung his crowbar and sent the body flying into a pair of other zombies; he raised his crowbar over his head as he fired his pistol into a zombie's chest, right where the heart would be before he bashed in the zombie's skull, blood and brain remains splattering all over his shirt as he whirled around and shot another zombie in the head.

Toni bellowed and rose up on her hind legs, swinging her paws at an approaching zombie and sending it flying into several more of its comrades before she dropped back down to all fours and charged at a group of zombies, slamming into them like a bowling ball into a collection of bowling pins as she sent them flying in all directions while crushing several more underneath her paws. She lunged at another zombie, clamping her jaws tightly on its skull and crushing it with one movement of her jaws before tossing the still struggling corpse into another zombie with a quick twist of her neck; she felt Paul climb back on top of her as she reared up onto her hind legs and charged right at the remainer of the horde, barreling into them as Paul swung his crowbar and fired off his pistol, sending zombies flying and falling in all directions.

"Yee-haw! Ride 'em, cowboy!" Paul cheered as Toni bellowed out an agreement.

A sudden hiss caught their attention, and Paul turned just in time to see a Zombie Eduardo come racing out of an alley at them, launching itself at Paul and tackling him to the pavement and off of Toni's back as Paul jammed his crowbar through the zombie's chest; the living corpse didn't fall however and continued to struggle and try to bite Paul before Toni swung a paw and sent him flying, tearing Paul's weapon out of Zombie Eduardo's chest.

"Thanks, babe." Paul breathed with relief; Zombie Eduardo came charging right back at them, snarling and snapping its jaws while Paul drew back his arm and threw the crowbar like a javelin, impaling Zombie Eduardo through the stomach and embedding the end of the crowbar deep into the building behind him, trapping there as Paul mounted Toni again and fired off his pistol, smirking with satisfaction when the zombie's skull exploded into a bloodied pulp.

"Ain't nobody gonna eat me." Paul snarled as he rode off.

* * *

><p>"So your parents are both a super model and super genius?" Maurananei raised an eyebrow.<p>

"Yep." Zelda nodded as she absentmindedly twirled her pipe around in front of her and around her back to pass the time while they walked; the only sounds the city offered to them were the occasional roar of settling rubble, the caws of hungry crows, or the whines of feral dogs in the alleys.

"Well that explains a lot." Maurananei grunted as she ducked under a fallen traffic light.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Zelda wondered.

"Your hot and your smart." Maurananei replied simply. "I'm straight, and even I have to admit that your as hot as they come, maybe even better; Alan's one lucky dude."

"Yeah." Zelda agreed with a slight blush to her cheeks. "I hope my parents like him."

"Considering the beating Micheal gave him over the course of the season, I think they'll think he's already been punished enough." Maurananei reassured her; Zelda was about say something else when her partner silenced her with a quick hand gesture, motioning for her to be quiet as her grip on her minigun tightened. Zelda glanced around for what was coming, but found nothing to alert her of until she looked down at a puddle of water on the pavement in front of her; every few seconds it rippled slightly, as if something heavy were being dropped over and over again in a steady rhythm.

"What is it?" Zelda whispered.

Maurananei didn't say anything at first as the noise got louder and louder as something got closer and closer, the ground starting to tremble underneath her feet as a gigantic shadow fell over the city. The two girls looked skyward, and Zelda swore she nearly wet herself by what she saw; towering over them and the surrounding buildings was a Titanite of epic proportions. It's four, blood red crests were nicked with pieces torn out as part of the alien's bloodied jaw was exposed to the elements, huge amounts of rotting flesh hanging off of the Titanite's monstrous bones and body; Maurananei could see it's amssive heart behind its gigantic ribcage through strips of flesh holding the bones together as it lumbered through the city, not particularly caring about where it stepped or what it stepped on.

"Micheal." Maurananei breathed.

"And of course, Chris programmed his most powerful form into the computer." Zelda whimpered as Zombie Micheal growled, a deep sound that thundered through the city, and started to move once more, effortlessly crushing cars and rubble beneath his feet into dust.

"What do we do?" Zelda hissed.

"Against that thing? Not much," Maurananei replied back. "But considering he's not chasing us, I think his vision is based on movement. So whatever you do, do _not _make any sudden movements." she warned.

"What happens if he sees us?" Zelda whispered.

"We run to a building, stay still, and hope it's strong enough to withstand Micheal's hunger." Maurananei answered as she slowly backed away; Zelda copied her movements, glancing behind her every now and then so she wouldn't trip over anything as Zombie Micheal growled and carefully searched the city, crushing anything under his feet as he took out gigantic chucks of buildings to haul himself up should he fall over.

_**Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!**_

This time, Zelda _did _wet herself at the sudden noise, looking around wildly for its source before she caught side of the abandoned car next to her blinking its lights and beepinng loudly as its car alarm went off.

"What did you do!?" Maurananei snapped.

"I didn't do anything! Honest!" Zelda flinched under her partner's intense glare; an earth shattering roar punched itself into her ear as every window within ten city blocks shattered into hundreds of pieces while Zombie Micheal turned to face them. He snorted and roared again, taking long strides to get over to the two frightened girls as they screamed and ran for the cover of a large office building. The Titanite raised a fist above its head and brought it down the side of the building, clearing out a massive trail of damage as his fist traveled downwards, sending glass, plaster, and concrete everywhere in thick showers.

"Curse you, Chris McLean! Curse you!" Maurananei screamed at the top of her lungs as the building collapsed around them.

"You're only making him angrier!" Zelda yelled as the Titanite bended down to punch a hole through the building, grasping for the two girls with his festering fingers; when he came up with nothing but rubble and debris, the undead Titanite lowered his head down to peer into the building at them, narrowing his blood red eye as a low growl escaped his jaws.

"Mother." Zelda whimpered before two shots suddenly rang out and punched into the alien's eye, a loud roar of agony echoing through the city as Zombie Micheal held his bleeding eye and shot back up his feed in pain; the two girls whirled around to see Anuok standing there with a smoke pistol, a grin on her face.

"Oh, thank goodness it's just you." Maurananei sighed with relief.

Anuok nodded and blew across the top of her gun as the building trembled and shook around them from Zombie Micheal's attacks; the mute girl made a series of rapid hand gestures.

"Anuok says we should go out the back." Zelda translated.

"You understand that?" Maurananei sounded surprised.

"It's just American sign language, not Japanese or anything." Zelda rolled her eyes. "Now lets go while the goings good."

* * *

><p>Serphonus cursed as he watched from the air, encased in a shimmering purple orb that kept him aloft and masked; the witch doctor could have easily won the challenge by just flying over the hordes of zombies and to the roof of the Hatchet Hospital, but he had other plans in mind. In order to win the million dollar prize, he had to win the competition and not get eliminated. But with firm friendships and strong relationships all around him, he was a sitting duck. Sooner or later, they would eliminate him so they could all spend one last night together before things got grizzly.<p>

Like a farmer trying to earn a living, he needed to sow the seeds he needed in order to survive, only he needed to grow suspicion and spite in everyone around him instead of corn or tomatoes; oddly enough, Serphonus was now hungry.

His plan to have Zelda and Maurananei eaten by the Titanite had worked for the most part; alerting the undead colossus of their precense by throwing concentrated balls of raw magic at the old car to activate the alarm had worked like clockwork, a plan he was really proud of.

As he flew over the city towards the Hatchet Hospital, he glanced down and noticed with a start that Zombie Micheal was howling in agony as it held a rotting hand to its face, roaring as it continued to attack the building it had cornered the two girls in; a sudden spout of gunfire came out from the base of the building and exploded into the Titanite's foot, making the titan roar with further pain.

"How dare they!?" he hissed with annoyance, thrusting his cane downwards to force the sphere carrying him to move down towards the Titanite's head. "C'mon, you over-sized carcass! Smash 'em already!" he yelled in Zombie Micheal's head; the Titanite bellowed and moved his hand away from his bleeding eye to swat at the glowing orb that was buzzing around his head, just barely missing the witch doctor as he continued to buzz around the Titanite's head.

"Not one of my better plans." Serphonus realized as Zombie Micheal turned his attention to him. Roaring with hunger or annoyance, the colossus crossed its arms in front of its decaying face just as a loud hissing noise filled the air and a sudden spray or corrosive, green liquid shot forth from a pair of organs that were just barely visible in the Titanite's wrists; the green shower of acidic liquid washed over Serphonus's sphere, smoking curling off of it as the witch doctor fled before his magic dissipated.

"The big lug is proving to annoying even in game!" Serphonus growled to himself as he landed on the road below just as the purple orb around him vanished into thin air; unfortunately, this did nothing to deter Zombie Micheal from chasing after him. The Titanite stomped across the city after the witch doctor, bending down every now and again to try and scoop him up in his gargantuan hands. Serphonus mentally cursed himself for being so careless as he quietly chanted a series of incomprehensible words under his breath before pausing long enough for him to stomp his staff down into the ground. A loud sucking sound filled the air before an exact image of Serphonus materialized beside him in a puff of black smoke; the two witch doctors nodded and ran off in two different directions. Thankfully, Zombie Micheal chose to chase after the fake Serphonus, completely ignoring the real witch doctor entirely.

_**Confessional**_

"Note to self: destroy all aliens." Serphonus growled.

_**End Confessional**_

* * *

><p>Paul gritted his teeth as he fired off his pistol again, putting another hole through yet another lone zombie that come shuffling their way as he and Toni made their way down the streets; the shape-shifter had long since returned to her normal form and picked up an old baseball bat to use as a weapon while Paul decided to stick with his pistol. Despite the both of them being armed, Paul was feeling less safe than before.<p>

"Any idea how much farther we gotta go?" Paul wondered.

"Before I changed back, I got a whiff of some medical alcohol," Toni answered, barely more than a whisper. "Unfortunately, it was coming from two different directions and neither one was stronger than the other."

"That doesn't give us much options." Paul tapped his chin. "Should we split up?"

"Not if you value your brains." Toni shook her head. "The odds of us one of us getting mobbed by zombies is too great; together, we'll at least have a sporting chance of making it out alive."

"If you came back as a zombie, you'd be the last one I'd kill." Paul joked.

Toni rolled her eyes. "That has gotta be the _worst _pick up line I have ever heard." she said before grabbing Paul by the front of his shirt and yanking his head down to her level to press her lips to his for a few seconds before breaking away. "Cheesy, but I like it." she smiled.

"Aw, thanks." Paul blushed a little. "You sure your mom is okay with us dating?"

"Considering you helped save her from that Nigerian military base, I'm pretty sure she already sees you as a son-in-law." Toni smiled. "Although, truth be told, she tried talking me into going out with Micheal before we left."

"Why!?" Paul panicked.

"You mean other than the fact that he can change into animals just like me?" Toni asked with a sarcastic tone. "Either way, I gave her a piece of mind after she said that. She strongly approves of you." she said with a smile.

A sudden hissing noise caught their attention and the pair froze on the spot, their grips on their weapons tightening as a loud shushing noise swept its way over the quiet avenue they were currently walking down. Snarls and moans started to fill the air as zombies started to shuffle out of the alleys and burst out of the apartment doors on either side of the street; more lean and agile members of the undead hissed and growled like hungry animals as they climbed face down the fronts of the buildings and swarmed on the roof tops, hungrily licking their chops as they gave off a rotting odor. Paul gulped when he recognized zombie versions of Mortisha, Trey, and Reese among the ranks of the undead, shivering when Zombie Mortisha licked her dagger-like teeth and pointed a bony claw directly at him before drawing it across her throat.

"You take the ones on the left, I take the ones on the right?" Paul suggested, wincing as the zombies snarled and clawed at the air. **[3]**

"How about I take the ugly ones?" Toni suggested sarcastically.

"Which ones would that be?" Paul smirked.

"Exactly." Toni smiled slyly as she focused on an image in her head and felt the changes begin. The first thing to happen was the fur; black, thick, and coarse, it raced over her arms and legs, meeting at the torso and racing to cover her face and back as her hands and feet became thick and leathery. Her jaw bulged forward, bones crunching and cracking as they changed and shaped themselves to the match the image in her head. Her usually slim arms swelled as muscles packed themselves on top of each other, her veins expanding as her nimble fingers lost their delicateness as they became thick and perfect for smashing. Her toes shrank a little and suddenly moved away from the rest as they became similar to her hands while her face turned into a black, rubbery mask as her belly became round. With the unfortunate fatness came the massive and broad shoulders the heavy brow that shaded her eyes as her canines enlarged and completed the transformation.

With a roar, the gorilla swung her baseball bat like a club and connected it with the skull of a zombie, sending it flying before the large ape beat the rest of the body into submission. It was as if someone had just hit the play button on the remote; all the zombies rushed at them as one, skittering down the sides of the buildings and jumping off of the roof tops and swarming out of the alleys in a mad rush to consume and destroy the warm, living flesh before them.

Paul yelled incoherently as he fired his pistol like crazy, putting holes through zombie's skulls whenever they got too close for comfort. Zombie Mortisha snarled and dropped down from the roof tops and landed in front of him, swiping her bony fingers at him and forcing him to jump back as three large slashes appeared across his shirt and chest; upon closer inspection, blood dripped from the wounds and Zombie Mortisha's fingers were instead razor sharp claws and her head was twisted upside down like some nightmarish creation as she wore a ripped and rotting cloak over her near skeleton figure. **[4]**

With a glare, Paul fired off two bullets at the monstrosity, blasting a hole in Zombie Mortisha's unbeating heart and skull; he fully expected the corpse to drop to the ground, lifeless, and was quite terrified when she kept attacking him without appearing to suffer any damage as she lunged at him and tackled him to the ground. Immediately, he was swarmed by zombies as started cracking skulls in a fruitless attempt to protect her boyfriend; with a loud roar, the gorilla ditched its baseball bat and grabbed an unsuspecting zombie by the leg and swung it around in a wide arc, clearing out a large selection of the undead for a good while as they tried to untangle themselves from the mess or arms and legs they had landed themselves in.

"Get ready to die twice, you undead freak of nature!" Paul snarled as he cracked his head into Zombie Mortisha's bleeding skull, allowing him to grab his pistol and slam the butt of it into her head before pulling the triggering and firing a bullet right through her decaying brain; the walking corpse screeching horribly for a second before Toni crushed her skull into a bloody mess with one swing of her cinder block fist.

"Thanks." Paul sighed with relief as he climbed to his feet.

A loud hiss and growl caught his attention and he turned to see Zombie Trey standing in front of a new horde of zombies as the ones that had been ensnared in their own limbs managed to untangle themselves and form loose ranks that surrounded the two survivors; Zombie Reese giggled and hopped back and forth on his feet like an imp as Trey glowered at Paul and glanced at the remains of Zombie Mortisha.

"Oh, **BEEP!**" Paul cursed.

"Attaaaack!" Zombie Trey roared in a low, hoarse voice as he jammed his guitar at Paul; the army of the undead bellowed and screeched as they rushed past their leader and swarmed at Paul and Toni, dropping like flies as the gorilla smashed their skulls like eggs with her massive fists and Paul fired off his pistol as fast as he could; when he was starting to run low on bullets, he focused on the chromatophores within his skin cells and felt them tighten and loosen with easy, effortlessly camouflaging himself as he whipped out a small Swiss army knife that he kept in his pocket and started to take down individual zombies within the ranks of the undead while protecting Toni from any that got too close to the hulking ape for comfort.

A sudden noise caught Paul's attention and he turned to see Zombie Trey slip his guitar strap over his neck and start to finger the strings with his skeletal fingers just as Paul stabbed a zombie in the chest through its unbeating heart; he gulped when the undead musician strummed a few strings before grinning wickedly and began playing his guitar in a dramatic fashion, strumming the streets with wild swings of his arms. The sound was unbearable to Paul's ears and absolutely agony to Toni's sensitive eardrums as Zombie Trey continued to play his heavy metal ballad for his undead horde. **[5]**

"Toni!" Paul yelled over the roar of the music, his voice nearly drowned out. "Go! Get out of here!" he yelled.

The gorilla roared and pounded its chest in response before it grabbed hold of a street lamp and used it like a gigantic club to bash multiple walking corpses into submission.

"Just go!" Paul scremaed louder. "I'll cover you and meet up with you at Hatchet Hospital!"

The gorilla roared in protest and was about to charge at Paul to scoop him up in her hairy arms and try to make a get away before Paul suddenly aimed his pistol at her and pulled the trigger, firing at the ground at her feet and making her stop in her tracks. "Go. Please." Paul begged as he returned the weapon's focus on the horde of undead. "If I don't make it, win for the both of us." he said.

The gorilla was about to move again when Paul trained his pistol on the large ape. "Don't make me shoot you. I don't wanna shoot you, but I will if it means getting at least one of us out of this hellhole." Toni was about to move again before catching a look at Paul's determined and unwavering expression; with great reluctance, the gorilla took one last look at Paul before crushing one last zombie into a bloody corpse and fleeing, knuckle running down the street and away from the horde as the rest of the zombies circled around Paul and edged in closer, preparing for a meal.

"A walking meal, a walking meal! Reese gets a walking meal!" Zombie Reese cackled impishly as he danced in front of Paul tauntingly; the joking corpse quickly fell when Paul fired a bullet into its head. With a growl, Paul drew back his hand and chucked his knife right at Zombie Trey, smirking with satisfaction when the blade plunged deep into the walking corpse's skull and remained stuck fast there as Zombie Trey dropped to its knees and slumped lifeless to the ground. The ranks of the undead were now less organized that before but were still driven by insatiable hunger. Just as Paul reached for his trusty pistol and the remaining bullets in his pocket, he felt something hot and smoking slam into his chest and pin him to the ground; the zombies moved as one and piled onto him, hungrily eating away at him as he screamed.

The last thing he heard before he died a painless death was a deep, cackling laughter that twisted its way into the deepest, darkest corners of his mind.

_**Confessional**_

"Wonderful work, if I do say so myself." Serphonus grinned devilishly as he leaned against the wall of the outhouse. "Now that Paul's out of the challenge, I can mess with Toni all I want and break all manner of ties she has with anyone in the game." he chuckled deviously. "And what about Wilson? Here's a little secret for all you Total Drama nerds out there: he never even _existed_. All just a clever disguise and ruse for my defarious purposes." he grinned.

_**End Confessional**_

* * *

><p>Caroline screamed bloody murder as she ran out of the clinic for dear life, making a quick note that it wasn't Hatchet Hospital, and tore down the street as fast as she could with the small horde of zombies chasing after her, Zombie Mitchell at the lead and hurling fireballs at her that she only just narrowly missed. The animal whisperer was barely looking where she was going when she slammed into something remarkably strong, like that of an iron wall; Caroline groaned and groped around to try and find some sort of hold on which she could peel herself off of. Her fingers closed around something soft and round, good enough for her to grab onto and pull herself off of the sturdy surface before she realized what it was.<p>

"Uh, didn't see you there?" Maurananei guessed with a red blush to her face; Caroline abruptly noticed that her small hands were closed tightly around her friend's breasts and immediately yanked them away with a crimson red face as she stammered an apology.

"Don't worry about it." Maurananei waved it off. "I'd normally be so angry that I'd pop a blood vessel, but considering you're being chased by those unsightly faces without a weapon of any kind, I'll let it slide." she said, nodding to the horde of zombies behind Caroline. "Now if you'll excuse me . . ." she grunted as she hefted her minigun off of her shoulder and leveled it at the horde before pulling the trigger on the weapon and sending a shower of bullets at the pack of walking corpses. She cackled as Zelda jumped right into the middle of the horde and cleared out a small circle with a single swipe of her lead pipe before she raised it above her head and cracked it down on the skull of an unfortunate zombie, smashing the undead's head in; Anuok frowned and pulled the trigger on her gun, shooting down any zombies that came too close to them or Zelda as the later was ocassionally peppered with bullets until the entire horde was completely decimated.

"You okay?" Maurananei asked as she lowered her weapon slightly.

"Y-Yeah. I'm fine." Caroline gulped. "What about you?"

"We're fine." Zelda replied. "We ran into your zombified boyfriend, but nothing we couldn't handle."

"We got chased by a three-hundred foot tall zombie alien and got cornered in an office building before he finally got tired of trying to catch us and left while we escaped out the back way." Maurananei corrected the pink genius as she glowered. "Now that we're rested, we better start making our way to the hospital for a pick up."

"I don't know if this has occurred to anyone else, but what happens when we get there?" Zelda asked after a few moments of quiet walking. "Chris _did _say there could only be one winner."

"Simple." Maurananei replied without any hesitation. "Once we get to the roof, we fight to the death of whoever is left." she answered; Zelda gulped upon realizing how at ease Maurananei had said this and gripped her lead pipe tighter, hoping her martial arts skills would pay off in the end. The group of four girls made their way along the streets of the abandoned metropolis, ducking under fallen traffic lights whose wires sparked and fizzled horribly and crawling over the rusted remains of derelict cars and vehicles; they encountered very little of the undead thankfully, and any that they came across were quickly gunned down before they could alert their fellow zombies of finding food.

Talk amongst them was put to a minimum both out of fear of attracting the attention of the shuffling dead and because they simply didn't really have anything to say to each other in the first place; Caroline hugged herself closely to Maurananei, searching with frantic and sharp eyes for the first sign of danger and a weapon she could possibly use. While she was glad that Maurananei didn't seem to mind watching over and protecting her in the absense of Micheal, she couldn't help but feel useless to her aggressive friend at times and wanted to prove that she could be of more use than just an animal translator. Zelda had her lead pipe poised and ready to bash in any walking corpse's skull they found while Anuoj mostly kept to herself.

It wasn't until they had traveled on for what seemed an eternity did something truly eventful happen. Without warning, Anuok whipped around and slammed into Maurananei and Caroline, tackling them to the ground as a bullet whizzed over their heads; Zelda quickly ducked to the ground as more bullets were shot through the air. Maurananei growled much like a feral dog and sheilded Caroline from most of the gunfire with her own body as her eyes darted around for the source of the attack.

Zelda suddenly cried out on instinct as a bullet grazed her arm and another burried itself deep in her shoulder before she could spin her lead pipe in front of her fast enough to block most of the gunfire. The pink genius looked around wildly for the source of the attack when her eyes caught sight of a spider monkey perched on top of the roof of an abandoned convience store weilding a gun in its grubby, little hands; the primate screeched with amusement as it fired the weapon at the girls, howling even louder when a couple of bullets mercilessly slammed themselves into Anuok's gut and grazed her neck; another bullet to the head ended her and her body slumped lifelessly to the pavement. With little choice left, Zelda hurled her pipe like a javelin at the monkey and sighed with relief when the monkey scampered away.

"Is everyone okay?" Zelda asked, hissing when she looked at her wounds.

"I'm fine." Caroline said as she crawled out from under Maurananei. "What about you Maurri?" she asked her friend; there was no response but a dry groan as Caroline fearfully rolled her friend over onto her back and choked upon seeing multiple bleeding holes punched in her shoulders and arms and even right through her chest and stomach; a gigantic, red hole sat right between Maurananei's eyes as she gasped for dying breath, her eyes half closed.

"C-Caroline?" she wheezed. "Are you alright?"

"I-I'm . . . I'm f-fine." Caroline choked; she knew full well that Maurananei's death wasn't real in the slightest, but watching as her friend, one of the few people who acknowledged her as a friend instead of little more than a waste of space, lay dying on the road at her knees, breathing her final breaths while she was incapable of saving her. Even if she were able to remove the bullets and find enough medical supples to heal her and patch her up, it was already too late. "Please . . . p-please don't die on me." she begged.

"We all gotta go some time." Maurananei smiled weakly as she coughed slightly. "Funny. I can't feel anything remotely close to pain, and yet I feel as if I've just been hit by a freight train."

"But . . . I-I can't win this without you!" Caroline protested. "Please! I need you!" Caroline started to cry as she hugged Maurananei tightly; Zelda was watching the emotional outburst before her with pained eyes as she removed the bullet from her shoulder, her breath short and dry as she tried to fight back tears.

"Yes . . . you can." Maurananei's breathing started to slow down. "From the moment I laid eyes on you, from the moment when you slugged Ezekiel in the face, I knew you were strong. Life may have treated you like **BEEP! **but you can do this. You don't . . . don't need me to help you. You can do this, I know you can."

"N-no . . . I can't . . . " Caroline sobbed. "I'm pathetic and worthless. Nobody but you guys like me and when this game's over, I'll never see you again." she sniffed, choking on her own tears.

"Yes you will," Maurananei promised her. "You're beautiful. You're cute. You're fun to be around. Micheal's lucky to be your boyfriend, and I'm lucky to be your friend; heck, if I wasn't straight and you weren't dating Micheal, I would snathced you up long ago." she joked with a smile as her skin continued to pale. "You can . . . w-win this. You've come this far; why quit now?' were Maurananei's last words before she went limp in Caroline's arms, her pulse dead and lifeless and her fingers cold and clammy.

_**Confessional**_

"Such a warming moment," Serphonus mocked crying. "It would warm my heart if I had one." he chuckled deviously. "And the best part? They'll think the poor animal **BEEP! **did it, too. That's four votes against Toni, more than enough to get her off of the island and away from my money. But why stop there?"

_**Change Confessional**_

"I meant every word I said to Caroline," Maurananei said. "And if any of you **BEEP! **know Caroline out there, I will personally hunt you down and make you pay for everything you've ever done to her. You hear me!? You're gonna be my Larry's next chew toy!"

_**End Confessional**_

"Come on, Caroline." Zelda sighed, resting a hand on the mourning girl's shoulder. "We need to get going."

"How do I know you won't just kill me!?" Caroline snapped defensively, tears still trickling from her eyes.

"Because I could have done that long ago when you were crying over Maurananei's death." Zelda explained calmly. "And, to be quite frank, you're not much of a threat. If it wasn't for Maurananei, you'd be Swiss cheese by now."

"Don't you _dare_ say her death in vain!" Caroline shouted, tears streaming down her face.

"Caroline, she isn't dead. She's still alive." Zelda said calmly with a hint of impatience in her voice. "Now come on; don't let her death be in vain."

"Stop mocking her!" Caroline sobbed angrily.

"I didn't-" was all Zelda managed to say before Caroline grabbed Maurananei's minigun and managed to heave it up into the air with shaky arms as she pulled the trigger; a shower of firey bullets came spewing out at a lightning fast rate, slamming into Zelda's body with the force of a freight train in each bullet as Zelda's body jolted and shuddered with every punch until she lay lifeless and crippled on the ground, dead. Caroline breathed heavily as she dropped the weapon and looked over Zelda's fallen form, realizing with horror what she had done . . . and that she felt no guilt at all.

A low growl echoed throughout the entire city, and Caroline quickly grabbed the legs of Maurananei, Zelda, and Anuok's corpses and dragged them under the shelter of a tree, folding their arms over their chests and drapping an old tarp she had found over them before grabbing Anuok's gun and Zelda's pipe in her hands; the minigun was too heavy for her to carry as she left the body's behind and made her way towards Hatchet Hospital just barely visible over the rise of buildings.

_**Confessional**_

"I guess I don't entirely blame Caroline for acting like that," Zelda sighed. "From what I understand, she comes from a pretty hard life without any friends and constant abuse, so she's pretty fragile. And based on her actions, I am going to guess she has never experienced death before, much less have someone close to her die so close to her; people in such a case are suseptable to rash actions due to strong emotional influence.

_**End Confessional**_

* * *

><p>Serphonus grinned maliciously as he watched Toni from within the depths of an alley, chuckling quietly to himself when she noticed her nervous demeanor as she hugged herself atop of an abandoned bus, her body tense as she prepared herself to strike or flee at a moment's notice.<p>

"All too easy." the witch doctor chuckled as he dipped a hand into a small pouch clipped to his belt and pulled out a handful of purple dust before chucking it down at his feet and engulfing himself in a puff of pink smoke as he felt his nearly limitless magic work and change him, projecting an image of Paul over his own body and disguising his voice to the point where almost no one would be able to tell the difference; he just hoped Toni didn't turn into anything that had too good of a sense of smell, otherwise he would be found out for sure. Once he was confident that the spell had worked, he cleared his throat and came jogging out of the alley, pretending to have just been running for a long time as he approached Toni with a smile on his face.

"Paul!" Toni sighed with relief as she jumped off the of the roof of the ancient bus and pulled Paul into a bone crushing hug; not once did she flinch upon touching him, making Serphonus assume that it had worked. "I thought you were dead!"

"Yeah, well, it'll take more than those zombie idiots to take me down." Serphonus smirked.

"Glad to hear it." Toni smiled, hugging him again. "Come on. The hospital shouldn't be too far away."

"Good. I'm ready for this challenge to be over." Serphonus sighed. With a hidden smirk on his face, he jogged after Toni through the dust filled streets under the poisoned sky, his grin deepening further when low snarls and hisses came from the alleyways as they ran past and Toni flinched slightly.

"So, uh, can I just ask you something?" Serphonus asked through Paul's voice.

"What?"

"Is it true? About what they said about you?" Serphonus popped a question that wasn't true in the slightest.

"What? What did they say about me? And who's they anyway?" Toni wondered.

"The other contestants." Paul replied. "Zelda's been going around saying you've been cheating on me with Maurananei."

Toni screeched to a halt. "Excuse me?" she raised an eyebrow.

Serphonus held his hands up in defense. "Hey, I'm just trying to make sure I got all my facts straight before I do something rash." he said in Paul's voice. "So is it true?"

"N-no!" Toni yelled back, her cheeks flushing a deep red. "Why would you think that?"

_**Confessional**_

"I love Paul more than anyone else I've loved before," Toni said. "But if he thinks I could be swayed that easily to cheat on him with another _girl _of all people, we're gonna have some issues." she frowned, folding her arms over her bust.

_**Change Confessional**_

"And the seed of doubt is planted." Serphonus grinned, rubbing his hands together. "If Toni doesn't get eliminated tonight, she'll be more wary and suspicious of Zelda and her relationship with Paul will be strained." he smirked. "Meanwhile, I simply watch from the background and enjoy the fireworks."

_**End Confessional**_

"I'm not saying you did, but given the chance, would you ditch me for her? Or maybe even Micheal?" Serphonus asked.

Toni looked hurt. "Paul, you know my mom already tried to pair me up with Micheal and you know what I said. Why are you acting like I can't be trusted?"

"I'm not saying I don't trust you." Serphonus shook his head. "I just to be reassured that I'm the only one for you."

"Of course you are!" Toni protested. "Paul, I love you like I've never loved anyone else in the world. I can't imagine another day without you at my side, holding me tight and telling me that you love me to." she said.

"Good." Serphonus nodded as he reached into his pocket with Paul's hand and pulled out a gun he had salvaged from the wreckage of an old grocery store. "Nice to see you're as gulliable as usual."

"What?" Toni blinked, not quite believing the words she heard.

"Oh, you poor, mindless, **BEEP!** You really thought I loved you?" Serphonus purred, a cruel grin crossing Paul's face. "You were nothing more than a tool to me, a free ticket to get farther ahead in the competition. And you blindly allowed me to manipulate and pull your strings like the worthless, **BEEP! **puppet you are."

"S-Stop calling me that!" Toni shouted, balling her hands into fists.

"Too bad no one will be able to know what you are, thanks to the censorship of this show," Serphonus as he loaded bullets into the empty gun without a care. "And you wanna know what the sad part is?" he asked.

"Wh-What?" Toni trembled.

"You fell for it _so _easily." he said. "Pity. I was hoping for more of a fight." he grinned as he finished loading the pistol and pointed it at the shape-shifter. "Any final words before I blow your brains out, you disgusting **BEEP!**"

Toni gulped as she felt hot tears like molten iron drip down her face; she wanted to believe that what Paul was saying wasn't true, that she was merely hallucinating to perhaps an accident in the game that put her in shock and that she would wake up any second now to see Paul's loving smile once more. But she knew that what was happening wasn't a dream, that Paul really was insulting her, that he really did never love her, that he had a loaded gun pointed directly at her face. She felt the animal instincts within her well up and push aside all human logic and reason as an image formed in her head and the DNA flowed through her blood and veins. She felt muscles pack themselves onto her shoulders and chest as her spine bent forward, compressing her down onto her hands and knees with a loud crunching noise that sent shivers down her spine. Her neck swelled with muscles and tissue as she felt hundreds upon thousands of tendons and muscles wire themselves up to her jaws as her teeth ripped through her gums and became sharp and pointed. Her face snapped and crunched loudly as it bulged forward into a short, box-like muzzle to fit her new teeth that were perfect for crushing while her grew larger and slightly triangular in shape as they rotated to the top of her head; her arms snapped as they bent at her wrists to add another joint as her fingernails grew into sharp claws perfect for clawing through thick hide and providing traction in a chase. Tissue and muscles continued to pack themselves onto her, making her forelegs longer than her back legs as a small tail squirted out from the base of her spine while a light, shaggy coat of tan fur sprouted all over her body, sprinkled in with black spots and hashes that gave her a scruffy and dirtied appearance, completing the transformation.

"Ah, you're finally returning to your original form, I see." Serphonus smirked as his grip on the weapon tightened against the hungry spotted hyena. The animal snarled and showcased its massive teeth as it gave a cry that sounded similar to laughter before lunging at Serphonus just as he pulled the trigger on the gun in his hands; the bullet grazed the animal's shoulder before the hyena slammed Serphonus to the pavement, cackling further as it attempted to bite his throat and crush his neck into dust. The witch doctor would have none of it and cracked the butt of his gun over the hyena's head, dazing it long enough for him to scramble to his feet and point it at the animal's head.

"See you in **BEEP!**" Serphonus grinned as he pulled the trigger and blasted a bullet into Toni's skull. With a pained whine, the animal dropped to the pavement, dead. **[6]**

* * *

><p>Caroline breathed heavily as she rushed at the doors of Hatchet Hospital, gulping in one deep breath as she jumped and tucked her body up into a ball as she smashed through the glass of the doors and tumbled into the lobby, cutting her arms and legs on the glass shards and bruising her knees and elbows on the roll. With a small groan, she climbed to her feet and looked around the decorated lobby before setting her eyes on an elevator; if she took the elevator, she would reach the roof faster. But the likely hood that there was still power to work the elevator was slim and the prospect of it stopping while in use was also highly likely. In the end, she decided to use the stairs that stretched between the many, many floors of the hospital, hoping to whatever god there was that there weren't too many zombies to deal with.<p>

Panting heavily, she made her way up the stairs, glancing out of whatever window she passed to see what appeared to be a tidal wave of garbage and trash flooding the streets; it was then with horror that she realized that they were zombies, thousands upon thousands of them. The snarled and hissed, growled and roared as they clambered over one another in their mad rush to get to the hospital and claim the last of the remaining lives in the city for their endless hunger. Caroline felt her blood run cold when she saw a large elephant with an exposed rib cage and rotting flesh and tusks stomp through the ranks with several excited zombies on its back; _Toni._ A familiar zombie soared above the army of the undead, fire streaming from its hands as it was pushed through pulsing veins in its exposed wrists and arms; _Mitchell._ A decaying head and a festering arm and hands pushed its way through the crowds of corpses, fading in and out of existence every few seconds; _Paul._ A tall, muscled, female zombie with greasy hair, skeletal leg, and a pair of sizable breasts just barely held back by the shreds of a tank top shoved its way mercilessly through the horde of undead, wielding a chain saw as it cackled manically; _Maurananei._ And to top it off, a colossus of epic proportions waded its way through the sea of corpses, blood dripping through its dagger-like teeth and rotting body as its massive, exposed heart beat every few seconds while it crushed hundreds of zombies underfoot without care, easily, swiping its arms past the corners and sides of buildings and sending rubble down onto the army of undead without care; _Micheal._

Her heart in her throat, she ran faster up the steps of the hospital, noting with horror that the zombies were starting to climb the walls of the hospital, occasionally punching clear through the walls and windows to try and grab at her before she shot them down with Anuok's gun or beat them back with Zelda's pipe. She heard more crashes above and grumbled under her breath when she realized that she would be fighting her way up through the halls and corridors of the hospital.

"Should have just taken the elevator." she cursed under her breath as she turned down a hallway and saw a good number of zombies swarming in the corridor and blocking her way to the stairs. With a scream, she fired off her gun and blasted three zombies in the heads before rushing into the fray with Zelda's lead pipe, mindlessly swinging it back and forth to slam the zombies into the walls on either side of her as she blindly ran through the hallway, up the stairs and followed the same process through the second zombie filled hallway before coming to a stop.

"Please tell me there's a map in this place." Caroline whimpered as she stopped to catch her breath, crawling over to the nearest elevator to rest. So far, she had successfully made her way through a couple of the hospital's floors, but she had no idea how many there were until she looked at a map. With little choice left, she reached above her head and pressed the up button the elevator's pad, yelping with surprise when the elevator dinged open; she quickly scrambled in and breathed with relief when the doors closed behind her inside of the empty car.

"Just thirty more floors." Caroline sighed with relief. "Better go twenty just to be safe." she said to herself before pushing the button for twenty-two and sliding down the back of the elevator to rest as the car slowly made its way up to the song of mindless elevator music. Before long, the doors dinged open again into a thankfully empty hallway; she stepped out of the elevator and carefully made her way down the hall before climbing up the next flight of stairs and freezing with fear once she made it to the top.

Standing in the hallway in front of her was Zombie Maurananei with her chainsaw and a cruel, twisted grin on her face. Down at its feet with a spiked collar around its neck attached to a chain leash was Zombie Toni; the chain was held tightly in the grip of Zombie Paul as he chuckled darkly and drew a bony finger across its throat in a slicing motion while Zombie Mitchell engulfed itself entirely in fire and turn it into a fiery skeleton with blackened bones. The walking corpses hissed and snarled savagely before lunging forward at Caroline as the animal whisperer gave off an identical scream and charged at them, blindly swinging her pipe and successfully catching Zombie Paul in the jaw and smashing its head up against the ceiling before swinging her weapon again to cut off Zombie Mitchell's head.

Caroline suddenly screamed as she was knocked down to the ground by Zombie Toni, now off of her leash and in the form of an undead wolf with an exposed jaw, missing eye and open rib cage with visible organs. The wolf growled and snapped its jaws, trying to bite Caroline's head and neck as she twisted it to the side to avoid every attempt before she managed to grab Anuok's gun and fire it at the zombie wolf, hitting it once in the throat to get it off of her before blasting it in the head to kill it. Now it was just Zombie Maurananei and Caroline left in the hallway.

"Please," Caroline said. "Just let me pass. I've lost you once before, and I don't wanna lose you again. Much less have to kill you." she added, gulping at the prospect of having to kill her best friend. Unfortunately, the zombie's response was to merely cackle manically and charge right at Caroline as she drew Anuok's gun and squeezed the trigger with her eyes shut, accidentally shooting her weapon upwards to bust out one of the overhead lights. She was forced to duck down to avoid a swipe of Zombie Maurananei's chainsaw before she fell on her back; she was about to get up when Zombie Maurananei stomped its foot down on her chest, pinning her to the floor as she gasped for breath.

"Me always want to be in two places at once!" Maurananei growled as she revved up her weapon. "Now you realize dream!"

Caroline closed her eyes and waited for the sweet grasp of the Virtual Reality machine to pull her out of its computerized nightmare and send her back to the real world, but the sweet release never came. All she heard was a loud blast in her ears and the strangled screams of Zombie Maurananei as it fell; Caroline rolled her eyes up to see Wilson standing over her with a smoking gun and a kind smile on his face as he helped her up.

"Race you to the top?" he smiled.

"Just hope you can defend yourself against my boyfriend." Caroline sighed as she tightened her grip on Zelda's lead pipe and Anuok's gun. "He's some kind of alien giant."

"I noticed." Wilson nodded. The two of them quickly made their way to the top of the hospital without any further incident until they kicked open the door to the roof top and walked out into the poisoned air above the city; all around them for as far as they could see were members of the undead, filling the streets and scaling the surrounding buildings in futile attempts to try and get to the last two people within the city that had managed to escape their grasp.

"So how do we signal for help?" Caroline wondered.

"I think that's the least of our problems right now." Wilson gulped as a gigantic hand big enough to crush a car between two of its fingers reached up over the lip of the hospital roof , quickly followed by a sparsely covered, skeletal face that of a Titanite. The colossus roared at the two survivors, nearly sending them tumbling off from the sheer force of the sound while the titan hauled the rest of its body onto the roof of the already unstable building.

"Aw, man." Caroline gulped as Zombie Micheal raised a foot and brought it down in an attempt to crush her and Wilson, the two of them just barely avoiding the massive foot before the giant bent down to try and snatch them up in its enormous fingers. Wilson fired off all the bullets in his gun in one round, aiming for the gigantic, beating heart embedded in the Titanite's exposed chest and succeeding in making it bleed the tiniest bit, the bullets little more than pinpricks to the giant; Caroline followed suit, this time aiming for one of the alien's eyes and forcing it stumble back slightly as it raised a hand to cover its eye while it plunged the other one down in an attempt to snatch up the two puny survivors.

"Caroline! Your staff!" Wilson yelled.

"Pipe!" Caroline corrected.

"Whatever! Stab it into his heart! Or his eye! One of the two! I'll try and distract it!" Wilson screamed louder.

_**Confessional**_

"All a part of the plan," Serphonus grinned darkly. "Out of everyone on this island, Caroline is the one I want to face off against in the finale; compared to all of the other freaks on this poor excuse for an island, she's the weakest one out there and the least likely to snatch victory from me." he explained. "So Micheal, if you're out there watching this, I am going to lure your girlfriend into a false sense of security and then crush every last hope and dream she has left in her pathetic life before I steal victory from her. By the time I'm done, she'll be a hollow husk of whatever worthless girl there was."

_**End Confessional**_

Gulping, Caroline tightened her grip around the pipe and charged at the massive hand in front of her, her sneakers slipping on the bloody bones as she ran up the decaying arm and tried to keep her lunch down from the revolting stench that stabbed itself into her nose. She managed to make it up the elbow and then to the shoulder of the Titanite before it started to move again, utterly oblivious to the tiny girl hanging onto its shoulder for dear life.

"The pipe, Caroline! Use the pipe!" Wilson yelled

Caroline nodded and gave a loud, shrill whistle right in Zombie Micheal's ear, making the Titanite turn its head to her just in time for her to hurl her pipe like a javelin at its other eye and cheering when the weapon plunged deep into the soft flesh; the giant roared in pain as it held its bleeding eyes and stumbled back as Caroline took a dive and jumped off the alien's shoulder, praying that she would survive the fall. Wilson however, was not so lucky, and was crushed underneath the titan's foot as it stumbled back and fell off the roof of the building and to the ground below, howling angrily all the way.

Caroline was bleeding heavily from her injuries from the fall, holding her limp, right arm as she searched for any way of signaling for help before the zombies climbed up the building and took her. At first, she didn't see anything but gigantic impressions from the Titanite's foot steps until she noticed a bright object lying just barely intact inside one of the footprints. She rushed over to the object and nearly collapsed from relief when she noticed that it was a flare gun. With shaky fingers, she pointed the flare gun to the sky as dozens of zombies started to pour over the edges of the hospital, racing towards her as she pulled the trigger and closed her eyes, the bright fire shooting high off into the air as the zombies converged on her.

* * *

><p>"Well, I have to say that that was awesome!" Chirs laughed, banging a fist on the oil drum that acted as a podium at the bonfire ceremony the flames crackled and danced, casting shadows over the campers and making Maurananei look <em>very <em>frightening to the host who chose to ignore for the moment. "So much drama! So much action! So many zombies!"

"Get on with it!" Maurananei snapped.

"Alright, alright. Sheesh." Chris grumbled. "When I call your name, come up and receive your marshmallow. Should you not be lucky enough to get a marshmallow you will forced to walking down the Dock of Shame towards the Torpedo of Shame-

"Get. On. With. It." Maurananei growled much like a feral dog.

Chris gulped. "Seeing as how Caroline won the challenge, she gets immunity and the first marshmallow." he said, tossing the animal whisperer her marshmallow; he then quickly called out Maurananei's own name and tossed her a marshmallow before she likely bit his head off.

"Anuok, Wilson, and Zelda, you're all safe as well." Chris grinned as he tossed the three teens their marshmallows; looks of guilt and two gasps of shock then followed as Paul and Toni looked fearfully at each other.

"Now there's one way to cause some tension," Chris smirked. "Show exactly _one _marshmallow to a pair of lovebirds." he grinned maliciously. "Paul, you're on the chopping block for back stabbing your girlfriend-"

"What!?" Paul roared. "But . . . I didn't . . . I would never-" he stammered before he was silenced by a low growl from Toni,

"Toni, you're on the chopping block for shooting at Anuok and Maurananei, forcing Caroline to go through a series of emotions she wasn't ready to experience and shoot Zelda full of holes." Chirs recited. "As sick as that might be, it was very cool."

"I didn't do anything!" Toni protested before Paul silenced her with a quick glare.

"And tonight's loser is . . ." Chris grinned as he held the marshmallow between two fingers.

_**Confessional**_

"Toni, duh." Serphonus rolled his eyes.

_**Change Confessional**_

"Take this, you back stabbing witch!" Maurananei growled at the camera. "This is for putting my friend through that **BEEP!**"

_**Change Confessional**_

"I thought I had something with Paul," Toni sniffed. "I really thought he liked me. But I guess you can't trust anyone in this kind of game. Once this competition is over, I'm going to spend the rest of my life hunting down and killing Chirs McLean. You hear me Chris!?" Toni roared angrily. "You will pay for what you put me through!"

_**Change Confessional**_

Anuok shook her head sadly as she held a piece of notebook paper. "So much sorrow and hatred." it read.

_**End Confessional**_

"Toni."

The shape-shifter blinked. "What?" she gulped hoarsely as Chris tossed Paul the marshmallow; the fluffy treat merely bounced off of his face as he starred wide eyed and slack jawed at the girl he loved.

"You heard me." Chirs shrugged. "We all gotta go sometime, and evidently, this is your time. So . . . get off my island!" he added, jerking a thumb towards the dock; he was promptly hit in the face with a branch as Maurananei dusted off her hands.

* * *

><p>Chris tapped his foot impatiently as Toni trudged past the rest of the contestants, only stopping when Maurananei and Chef threw him glares and threatening gestures.<p>

"Hey," Toni rubbed the back of her neck as she came up to Caroline. "I know we didn't talk a lot while in the game, but I just wanna say it was nice being with you."

"You, too." Caroline smiled as she shook the shape-shifter's hand. "I'll see you at the finale."

"You had a good run." Maurananei grinned as she pulled Toni into a hug and gave her a friendly noogie. "Don't do anything I would do, 'kay?"

"With your reputation, I'll probably take you up on the offer." Toni chuckled as she moved onto Anuok; no words were exchanged for obvious reasons as the two girls hugged and the shape-shifter moved onto Paul. The two were silent for the longest time before any one of them spoke up.

"I just wanna say . . . whatever happened . . . I'm sorry." Paul apologized.

"I . . . I'm sorry, too." Toni sighed. "Look, when I see this episode I'll try to figure out what happened, okay?"

"Deal." Paul nodded, pulling Toni in a tight embrace and kissing her on the forehead. "I'll win for us, alright?"

"I hate you remind you that it's a half hour show, but . . . _it's a half hour show!_" Chris yelled before Maurananei silenced him with one swift kick to the nether regions; the host crumbled to the ground like a sack of potatoes. With the small annoyance that was Chris out of the way, Toni gave Paul one last hug and kiss before climbing into the small pod and curling up into a tight ball as Chris shakily pressed the activation button and sent her firing off into the horizon.

"Who . . . Who will be voted off next?" Chris groaned as he attempted to stand again. "What crazy challenges will our contestants partake in and attempt to survive? And when will I be able to feel my kiwis again?" he whined.

"_NEVER!_" Maurananei yelled.

"Find out next time on Total! Drama! Pahkitew's Vengeance!" Chris signed off. "Chef! Get me an ice pack!" the host moaned.

_**Confessional**_

"All according to plan," Serphonus chuckled. "By the time this contest is over, they won't know what hit them." he cackled.

_**End Confessional**_

**And there we go, ladies and gentlemen! Onto the references made in this chapter!**

**[1] This is a reference to Left 4 Dead's campaign, where the survivors must get to the top of a towering hospital to signal for help. To be honest, _The Kobold Necromancer _made this reference first, not me.**

**[2] _The Walking Dead _starts out with the main character waking up in a hospital to find out that the world has crumbled into a zombie-infested cesspool. Course, how is that any different than what the world is now?**

**[3] _Rise of the Guardians _line and reference!**

**[4] As some of you may have been able to guess, I am am an avid _Ben 10 _fan. When I first saw Zs'Skayr, I was literally terrified to sleep at night for fear of the Ectonurite suddenly creeping out from under my bed or closet; considering how creepy Mortisha is, this only made sense.**

**[5] _League of Legends: Pentakill _reference! Gotta love Mordekaiser!**

**[6] For those that did not see the _Team Fortress _based chapter of my story, this is by far my favorite line of the Spy's. See you in hell, amigos!**

**As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!**

**Hasta Luego!**


	18. Scavenger Hunters

**And I have returned, ladies and germs!**

**Once again, I have nothing interest to say. Oh, wait! Yes, I do. I am officially announcing a sequel to this story, a second season. I won't release all the details, but I will say it is being done in a collaboration with fellow author _Jeptwin_ and it _will _contain more meta-humans. Should you so choose, you will be able to submit an OC, but please chose a different one than the one you submitted for this story; want to keep things interesting.**

**Shout out to _cartoonfanficwriter _for giving me the idea for this chapter!**

**On an unrelated note, if you guys could please do me a solid? For the next challenge, I need several dozen or so dares/truths (big guess at what's coming next). If you could include those in your reviews, it would be _very _much appreciated. We good? Okay. Thanks!**

**Now that that's out of the way, comment, review, suggest, and request below your thoughts on _this _chapter; please do not submit applications for the upcoming sequel should you so chose.**

**Onward!**

"Last time on Total Drama: Pahkitew's Vengeance!" Chris announced from the docks of the infamous island. "In a virtual world where society has crumbled and the undead are nice and plentiful, our seven remaining contestants battled it out against the hordes for the immunity and the chance to win a night in the Hangout of Awesomeness. Some highlights of the challenge included when Serphonus back stabbed Paul and then fooled Toni into thinking he was Paul with the help of some ever handy dark magic; confused yet?" he chuckled darkly. "Serphonus then proceeded to destroy Toni's good name by shooting Maurananei and Anuok dead disguised as Toni before he derailed Paul and Toni's train of love and sent the later packing. In the end though, it was Caroline the Animal Whisperer that stuck it out and won the challenge and prize. Or was it Serphonus, whose devious plot to send Toni packing succeeded?" Chris rubbed his hands together maliciously.

"Will Serphonus's evil plot succeed? Will Paul ever discover how his girl got voted off? Will my breakfast get here before lunch!?" he yelled loudly as an intern came jogging down the dock with a tray of fancy breakfast foods in hand. "Find out right here, right now! On Total! Drama! Pahkitew's Vengeance!" Chris declared as he sampled his pancakes. "Hey! You forgot the syrup!"

_**(theme song plays)**_

Paul sat back happily in his beach chair, inhaling the sweet scent of ocean spray and tropical flowers as the warm sun tickled against his skin; the sun was setting low in the distance, painting the sky a wonderful pallet of bright yellows, fiery oranges, and gorgeous pinks as seagulls screamed and squawked in the distance.

He watched as Micheal, Caroline, and Maurananei splashed about happily in the surf until Micheal turned on the Animatrix and swallowed himself in a burst of red light, emerging as a large killer whale that disappeared beneath the waves for a few seconds before surfacing with the two girls on his back; Trey and Mortisha were sitting the shade of the beach's palm trees, the former playing a nice song on his guitar while the later cuddled and cooed a hermit crab, laughing when the irritated crustacean latched onto her nose with its claws.

Alan, Zelda, and Reese were playing a game of Frisbee on the sand behind Paul, Zelda effortlessly ctaching the flying disk every time while Alan was more likely to trip and fall on his face and spit out a mouthful of sand before continuing; Monique and Tajira were playing off against Alex and Anuok in a game of volleyball, with Tajira's incredible strength and temper paying off as much as Anuok's ability to predict where she when she was going to spike the ball or not; Eduardo dangled from the end of a heavy duty fishing pole over a deeper part of the shore, hanging just of reach of a pair of voracious sharks as they snapped their jaws and imagined him slathered in butter and lemon juice while Kiko and Wilson struggled to keep the pole from quivering.

Paul ignored the other contestants and rolled his head to his right to gaze upon something that attracted his attention far more than his friends and enemy did. He smiled as he looked upon Toni, taking in her smooth, mocha skin like that of flawless, melted chocolate and her wide, hazel eyes that seemed better suited for an owl or cat; Paul didn't care though as he thought she looked absolutely gorgeous in her white bikini, showing off her well defined curves and sizable bust, almost teasing him it seemed.

"What're you looking at, handsome?" Toni taunted him with a pouty smile.

"Just the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life," Paul grinned before turning to face the ocean. "That sweet sunset out there."

"Really?" Toni seemed both saddened and angered by the answer.

Paul chuckled. "I'm kidding!" he laughed before Toni most likely used him as a scratching post. "The most beautiful thing I've seen in my life is, babe. Nothing could make me say otherwise."

Toni blushed and got up from her beach chair to stretch her arms, smirking when she found Paul starring at her. "You like what you see?" she teased.

"Would it be wrong if I said yes?"

"Nope."

"The yes, I like what I see." Paul grinned. "In fact, I _love _what I see. To put it simply, I just love you." he smiled, getting up from his own chair to hug Toni close to him, inhaling her exotic scent as she combed her fingers through his hair.

"I love you, too, Paul." Toni barely whispered as she kissed Paul gently on the lips, snuggling deeper into his warm embrace as the sun set off in the distance. Paul didn't want this moment to end, he just wanted to spend the rest of his life on this beach, surrounded by his friends, and with the love of his life, and all without the threat of being eaten, or maimed, or humiliated for the world to see and laugh at him.

* * *

><p>"ATTENTION, CAMPERS!"<p>

Paul yelped and jolted up in his bed as he was shaken from his dream, hitting his head on the bottom of the bunk above him; he cursed and held his throbbing skull as he blinked blearily and found himself in the tree house the majority of the contestants shared for living quarters and _not _a beautiful beach with the girl of his dreams. Instead, he found himself surrounded by bugs, mildew, and one very loud and annoying host who was currently babbling nonsense that Paul chose to ignore as best as possible as he swung his legs over the side of his bed and stood up to stretch.

The other three campers he was currently sharing the tree house with didn't seem to be early risers either as Zelda tore her pillow in half with one movement of her arms, pretending that it was Chris's skulls she was tearing in two as Wilson grumbled obscenities from above Paul. Only Anuok didn't seem that bothered by such a rude awakening, though the way she dug her fingers into her palms as she meditated said otherwise.

"Report to the docks in five minutes! Get your rears in gear and get over here!" Chris exclaimed. "McLean, out!"

"I just wish he'd be _out _of my life." Zelda groaned as she carefully set a stuffed dog at the foot of her bed and got up to stretch like Paul. "How someone can be so cruel and heartless is beyond all human understanding."

"That's Chris for ya," Paul sighed. "Able to defy the impossible while remaining his ever cruel and wicked self; I swear, he and the devil know each other."

"I wouldn't be surprised if he did." Wilson agreed.

_**Confessional**_

"The first thing I'm gonna do once that million dollars is mine is buy Pahkitew Island so I can burn it down to the ground." Serphonus grinned darkly as he summoned forth a bright, purple flame into his hand before extinguishing it with a flick of his wrist. "Then I use whatever is left to make my fellow 'competitors' miserable before I drain Chris of his miserable worthless soul and trap it in a bottle for all of eternity!" the witch doctor cackled. "That is, if Chris even _has _a soul."

_**End Confessional**_

* * *

><p>Maurananei stiffened and inhaled a sharp breath as she stirred, slowly blinking her eyes to gaze up at the slightly dull ceiling of the Hangout of Awesomeness; her limbs felt cramped and sore and she was eager to stretch them out when she felt a slight weight on top of her; she rolled her eyes downward to see a pile of wavy, dark brown hair sitting in front of her face, occasionally rise up and down every few seconds. Maurananei rolled her to the side to see Caroline sleeping on top of her like a mattress, her head lying on her breasts like a pillow and using the rest of her body like a bed as her arm draped over the side.<p>

Maurananei blushed a light red and turned her attention to the condition of the Hangout, noting that it was cleaner than all the other times she had been in it, most likely because there were only two contestants inside and that Caroline was a relatively clean person; the flat screen TV was paused on a video game of Mario Kart, a game Caroline enjoyed for all the soft and squishy looking characters and a game Maurananei enjoyed for all the destruction that was allowed on the track. The floor was littered with a few empty bags of chips and soda cans and a bowl of popcorn sitting on the coffee table in front of them had been spilled over when Maurananei had finally beaten Caroline on Rainbow Road after the longest time of falling from space to the virtual earth below.

Caroline suddenly shifted on top of Maurananei and yawned herself awake as blinked and rubbed her eyes.

"Sleep well, kid?" Maurananei smiled.

Caroline for a split second before launching herself off of Maurananei and to the floor, apologizing profusely as she trembled and shivered; Maurananei rolled her eyes and hauled herself up off the couch, stretching out her aching limbs for a second as the satisfying cracks and pops riddled her body and her muscles loosened before she crouched down to Caroline's level and gave her a small hug.

"C'mon, kid. You know me better than that." Maurananei smiled. "Nothing you do could make me mad. Not even using me as a bed."

"R-Really?" Caroline sniffed.

Maurananei nodded. "I saw what you did last challenge; very gung ho." she smiled. "You're finally standing up for yourself, kid. Nothing to be ashamed of."

Caroline nodded and hugged Maurananei back, holding onto her like a lifeline as she inhaled the sweet scent she had gotten use to over her time on the island, a mixture of sweat, metal, and just a hint of the sugary soda they had down the last night; other than Micheal, Maurananei was the only true friend Caroline had made on the island, and the animal whisper didn't want to let any of that go. In fact, she wasn't sure she even wanted to return to her normal life once the competition was over. Sure, it would mean having to put up with Chris's antics, Chef's horrible cooking, and life threatening challenges, but if it meant being with the ones she loved, it would all be worth it.

"Caroline? Could you maybe loosen your grip a little?" Maurananei asked. "Your nails are kinda digging into my arm; it feels like I'm being attacked by needles."

"Sorry." Caroline murmured as she released her hold on Maurananei but remained close to her regardless; with Maurananei, she felt safe and secure when Micheal wasn't around to keep Chris in line. She was like a solid brick wall compared to Chris, who was most likely something akin to rotten pudding, and twice as strong when she was angry. Naturally, sticking to Maurananei when threatened by one of their host's cruel tricks was the best option wasn't around to sucker punch it.

"ATTENTION, CAMPERS!"

Apparently sticking close to Maurananei was going to pay off _real _soon.

* * *

><p>"What the-" Paul startled when he and the rest of the remaining contestants arrived at the dock to find there was nothing there but a lowly intern standing next to a TV mounted on a cart. The sun was bright and hot in the sky, sizzling down on the boiling contestants; an unfortunate seagull that stood too long in one stop suddenly burst into flame, frying into a crispy, cooked bird before it was devoured by a hungry shark. "Where the <strong>BEEP! <strong>is Chris!?" Paul yelled angrily.

"Hey! This is a family friendly show!" Chris scolded as the TV suddenly blinked to life in front of the sweating contestants. "Keep the swearing down to a minimum!"

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't hunt you down and boil you alive in this heat." Maurananei threatened, cracking her knuckles; Anuok quickly scribbled something down on her notepad and handed it to Maurananei to read. "Yes, I do realize getting arrested and never getting the million bucks is a downside, but it's _Chris_; it'll be worth it." Maurananei replied, handing Anuok her notepad back to her when the paper suddenly burst into flames, forcing the mute girl to through her notepad into the lake.

"Hot out there, ain't it?" Chris chuckled as he sipped a cool soda.

"You're just rubbing it in our faces, aren't you?" Zelda narrowed her eyes at the TV screen.

"Maybe." Chris shrugged with a teasing smile. "Either way, I'm somewhere nice and cool while you are being cooked alive."

"Yep. He's rubbing it in." Wilson sighed. "What's the challenge, Chris?"

"I'm glad you asked, _Wilson_," Chris grinned, winking at him; the others shared confused looks while Wilson just gave the barest of nods, barely noticeable if you weren't looking for it.

_**Confessional**_

"So Chris knows who is pulling the strings of this puppet, eh?" Serphonus grinned maliciously as he tapped his fingers together in thought. "Little does he know there hasn't been a Wilson in this body for years; granted, my innocent allusion managed to get the better of me for a while, but as I always say to myself, nothing will stand in the way of what I want. _Nothing_." he hissed venomously.

_**End Confessional**_

"Your challenge," Chris began. "Follow a series of clues I have laid out for you to find my current location; first one to find me will be given an arrow they will have to fire all the way back at the archery field I had Chef set up; don't worry, legal says we are required to use suction arrows instead of real arrows thanks to our little Animatrix issues." Chris said with a pouting tone. "First one to shoot a bulls-eye wins a night in the Hangout of Awesomeness; the last two contestants to arrive will have to walk down the Dock of Shame and get shot out of the Torpedo of Shame and never come back. _Ever._" the host emphasized.

"Wait, _two _contestants? You mean two of us will be going home?" Zelda realized, drawing worried looks among the contestants.

Chris grinned maliciously. "That's right, campers! This is gonna be the most intense challenge yet!"

"You're just doing this so you can your paycheck and vacation quicker!" Zelda protested.

"So what if I am?" Chris shrugged. "First off, this has become the most costly season I have ever hosted, thanks to you freaks of nature. Second, you constantly threaten my life to the point where I have to lock myself away in a safe house for a challenge-"

"He should do that every challenge." Paul grumbled to Anuok.

"And _thirdly _you freaks are really, really annoying me! I mean, when the network said they wanted to pitch a season where the contestants all had super powers, I was all against it but did they listen? NO! They just had to dump you bunch of losers on my island and waste my time and-" was all Chris managed to say before Maurananei lunged forward, grabbed the TV, snapped it half over her knee and chucked the remaining pieces into the lake in the time span of a few seconds, leaving the intern thoroughly terrified as she ran away for her life.

"M-Maurananei?" Caroline flinched. "Can you . . . _please _. . . calm down.

The former criminal snarled and turned on Caroline with a feral look on her face that quickly softened when she saw the small girl trembling under her stern glare. "Sorry." she apologized. "Chris just . . . _really _pushes my buttons."

_**Confessional**_

"What is wrong with me?" Maurananei sighed as she face palmed herself. "I feel like a best friend, a girlfriend, and a mother all rolled into one!" she exclaimed with exasperation. "It's just . . . I've never seen anyone so . . . _innocent _in my entire life. For the first time since I can remember, someone trusts me completely and actually ooks up to me. There's just something about Caroline that makes me want to shield and protect her from the world." she sighed. "And Chris. Definitely Chris." she added with disdain.

_**End Confessional**_

"Why should we bust our backs over Chris anyway?" Paul scoffed. "I mean, he's not going anywhere, and I could use a day off."

"While you make a valid point, you forget that Chris will not hesitate to send any one of us home if we don't complete the challenge." Zelda sighed unhappily. "Take the day off if you want, but I'm going to find Chris before he does something . . . Chris-like." she said before spinning on her heel, about to march off when she realized that she didn't even know where to search.

"Even if we _want _to find Chris," Wilson sighed with annoyance. "We _can't_. He didn't leave us any clues."

"What I wouldn't give to have Toni or Micheal with us." Maurananei cursed. "They'd be able to sniff the **BEEP! **out in no time."

A shrill whistle caught everyone's attention, and they all turned their heads to see Anuok holding up a slip of paper that had been taped to the cart the TV had previously been attached to before Maurananei had sent it sinking to the bottom of the lake; the rest of the teens shared a look before scrambling over one another to peer over Anuok's shoulder to read the clue.

"Go to the cave North of where you sleep and be careful you don't make a peep; he really hates to be woken up." Caroline gulped upon reading the last part; the six contestants remained silent and still for approximately seven seconds before they exploded into a flurry of movement, trying to sabotage one another in order to get a head start. Zelda gave a round house kick and caught Paul in the gut, sending him flying to the dock as Anuok leaped over his fallen form and kicked the pink genius in the chest, sending her stumbling back into Maurananei as Caroline mounted the laters back and hung on for dear life as the former quickly flipped Zelda over and slapped her onto the dock, taking off with Caroline hitching a ride.

"Ouch." Zelda hissed as she climbed to her feet and rushed after Maurananei and Caroline, accidentally jamming a foot right down on Paul's kiwis before he instinctively curled up into a ball and whimpered.

_**Confessional**_

"Owen? If you can somehow hear this, I have a totally new respect for you." Paul said in a high, squeaky voice. "Why is it always the kiwis!?"

_**Change Confessional**_

"And the best part?" Serphonus grinned wickedly. "They didn't even notice me leaving in all that chaos; the prize will be all mine. The only problem is Maurananei," he tapped his chin in thought. "If I can just separate her and Caroline, I can help the pathetic little insect along and ensure that she wins first and that I am but a close second while the others fail."

_**End Confessional**_

Caroline grunted and hissed painfully as leaves slapped at her face and branches clawed at her skin from her high vantage point on Maurananei's shoulders, practically being shoved into the understory of the forest while her friend carried her along before coming to a stop and letting her off onto the ground where she began to remove twigs and leaves from her tangled mess of hair.

"This isn't the cave." Caroline noted.

"I know," Maurananei panted as she stooped down to steal a drink from the small stream trickling by her feet. "But we're not going on foot."

"What do you mean?" Caroline wondered.

"I've got a trick up my sleeve." the ex-criminal grinned as she wiped her lips; she jammed her fingers into her lips and gave a shrill whistle that echoed loud and far over the island, sending clouds of startled birds out of the surrounding trees. At first nothing happened, but then a slow, steady rhythm pounded its way into the earth of the island, nearly throwing Caroline off her feet as she hugged close to Maurananei for support. The ex-criminal didn't seem fazed in the slightest and her smirk only deepened when Larry came stomping out of the forest, giving a loud, wet roar before bending down and nuzzling lovingly against his owner's head.

"We're hitching a ride." Maurananei grinned.

"Y-you managed t-to t-train him, right?" Caroline gulped nervously when she caught sight of the mutant plant's wicked teeth.

"I managed to get him to stop trying to eat other people," Maurananei reassured her as she scratched Larry under the chin. "He still needs to be house trained, though. I wonder if they make litterboxes big enough for monster, mutant plants?" she wondered to herself.

"Maurananei? We're in the middle of a challenge?" Caroline prompted.

"Oh, right." Maurananei grinned sheepishly before turning to Larry. "You wanna help mommy and Caroline win against mean, old Chris, boy?" she asked in a tone that was usually reserved for little dogs and babies; Larry didn't care though and eagerly nodded his head, cuddling up to Maurananei and licking her entire body with his gigantic tongue, leaving her sopping wet and with a slight blush to her cheeks. "Alright, then! Larry, sit!" she commanded as the mutant knelt down and let Maurananei climb up onto his head.

Caroline gulped and followed afterwards, being careful of where she set her hands and feet as Maurananei smiled and patted the seat next to her before cracking her knuckle with a single flex of her hand and thumped a fist on top of Larry's head, driving the massive mutant forward.

"We'll be there in no time." Maurananei reassured Caroline. "We'll win the challenge and make it to the finale together."

"A-And what then?" Caroline gulped; she knew Maurananei was fond of her and liked her as something of a friend, maybe even a sister of sorts, but she had no doubt that Maurananei would crush her like a grape if she absolutely had to. And being rewarded a million bucks just be enough incentive . . .

"May the best girl win." Maurananei shrugged.

Unbeknownst to either of the girls or the massive, mutant plant, Serphonus was watching from the trees, twirling a small animal skull between his fingers as he observed and listened in on the girl's conversation; he grimaced and crushed the squirrel skull in his fist. The witch doctor needed to keep his secret from Caroline for as long as possible, leave her in the dark until the last second where he would then crush her insignificant life and all that she cared for. Plus, he wasn't in the mood to deal with an over-sized ficus or an ex-criminal that had gotten banned from Germany for unknown reasons.

Instead, he jumped to the tree branch behind him, moving with the skill of a monkey as he leaped from tree branch to tree branch, soaring over the forest floor until he came to the edge of the forest where Zelda was making her way towards the cave mentioned in the clue, his face splitting into a wide grin; now _here _was someone he could mess with. He then reached into the small satchel clipped to his belt and rummaged around inside before pulling out a fistful of small seeds, a malicious sneer crossing his face as he back tracked through the woods and to one of the main trails that winded through the forest. Without care, he tossed them along the path before pulling out a fistful of dark, purple powder from his satchel again and blowing it out in a massive, colorful cloud over the area. The effect was immediate as the seeds instantaneously sprouted into monstrous, thorny abominations taller than a man and with huge, fanged maws at the centers of their bright, colorful petals.

"This should be fun." he grinned.

* * *

><p>Paul sucked in a deep breath before he gave his leg an almighty pull and attempted to pull it out of the thick, soupy quicksand he had stumbled upon; he had been running along a trail that led towards the cave towards the North end of the island, racing to make sure that he got there ahead of anyone else to get a bigger lead when he had suddenly found himself shrinking. And then found himself in quicksand.<p>

"I swear, Chris, if this is one of your tricks . . ." he grumbled under his breath.

"I get blamed for everything around here!" Chris whined over the loudspeaker.

"So, you _did _do it?" Paul grunted as he struggled to reach the edge of the quicksand bog.

"Maybe . . ." Chris went silent.

_**Confessional**_

"I totally did." Chris smirked.

_**Change Confessional**_

"Knew it." Paul glared at the camera.

_**End Confessional**_

Paul swam closer to the edge, the quicksand pulling him down farther and farther as he slowly inched towards a tree root that was just out of reach; he heard a rustling through the bushes and looked up just in time to see Zelda walk through the underbrush and move off down the trail without noticing him.

"Hey!" he yelled.

Zelda turned around and gasped when she caught sight of Paul sinking. "What happened?" she wondered aloud as she rushed over to him.

"What do you think? I fell in one of Chris's traps." Paul grumbled sarcastically. "Can you give me a hand?"

"My best option would be to just leave you here and bring me all the more closer to winning the challenge." Zelda replied as she turned around and rooted around in a grove of bushes before pulling out a long branch a little longer than she was tall. "But the instinctual side of the human brain dictates that I help you for my own survival."

"What?" Paul blinked.

Zelda rolled her eyes. "It means that I should help you; how else do you humans have become such a successful species on this planet?"

"You make a valid point." Paul nodded as Zelda reached for him with the end of the long stick and let him grab hold before pulling.

"Of course, I highly doubt we will ever be successful as the _Dinosauria. _They have been around on Earth for about 160 million years more before humans even started to evolve." Zelda recited.

"Yeah, thanks for the interesting fact." Paul rolled his eyes. "Now how about helping me out of this quicksand!?"

"Technically speaking, quicksand is not sand, more of wet med. In short, quicksand is more like quickmud." Zelda replied, grunting as she pulled with all her strength, only succeeding in pulling Paul a few more inches towards the shore, still not far enough for him to reach.

"Try harder!" Paul suggested.

"I need to conserve my energy for the challenge." Zelda panted.

"What if I promised to give you a piggyback ride to the cave?" Paul tried. Zelda narrowed her eyes and tapped her chin in thought; pulling Paul out of the quicksand would sap her of her strength, but at the promise of a chance to restore her energy and potentially get a lead, she agreed. As an added bonus, Paul would tire if she rode on his back, allowing her to gain an edge over him.

With a loud noise of strain, she dug her heels into the earth and pulled with all her might, her arms burning as Paul slowly but surely was pulled towards the shore; he let go of the stick with one hand and now started to try and reach for the shore. He eventually grabbed onto a root and began to pull himself, sending Zelda falling back when he let go of the stick and finally pulled himself out of the wet trap, panting and covered with quicksand from the waist down.

"Thanks." Paul sighed.

"Now . . . now you . . . hold up your . . . end of the . . . deal." Zelda panted as she lay flat on her back.

"Yeah . . . sorry about this." Paul apologized as he finished catching his breath and focused on the chromatophores in his skin as he flawlessly blended into his surroundings and essentially disappeared before Zelda's eyes.

"Paul?" she called out.

"Hasta la vista!" Paul's voice rang out from somewhere in the forest.

_**Confessional**_

"Look, I don't like double-crossing someone anymore than you guys like watching it happen to your favorite contestant, but I gotta stay in this competition long enough to win the prize," Paul said to the camera, pounding his fist into his open palm. "I made a promise to Toni that I would win for us and find out how she got the boot; if that means I have to back stab and trick a few of my friends to get to the final four . . . so be it." He sighed, the guilty feeling in his gut not sitting well with him.

_**Change Confessional**_

Zelda sat against the side of the outhouse, sniffling as tears streamed down her face; she slowly and carefully sharpened a large throwing knife against a whet stone. "And here we are again . . ." she sniffed. "Betrayed and tricked again." she sighed. "I can't believe I've been back stabbed again. I guess Courtney was right; if you want something done right, you do it yourself."

_**End Confessional**_

"Here we are!" Maurananei announced as Larry came to a stop in front of a large, cavernous cave in the side of a towering cliff; the monster plant lowered its head down to the ground and let Maurananei and Caroline slide off before he happily licked Maurananei.

"You go in and see if you can't get the clue," Maurananei said to Caroline. "I'll be along as soon as I make sure Larry's had enough positive reinforcement." she said with a smile as she scratched Larry under his chin and then reached into her pocket to pull out the carcass of muskrat before tossing the smelly thing to her pet. Caroline nodded and headed into the cave as Larry lovingly licked Maurananei and cuddled up to her.

"Who's a good boy? Who's a good boy?" Maurananei grinned as she scratched Larry's head and gave him a small kiss.

Serphonus watched from the bushes surrounding the cave, trying not to gag as he watched the great show of affection before him; while Caroline was in the cave, there was a slight possibility that she would hear any sort of ruckus made if he attacked her friend and her mutant plant. That, and he was not looking forward to tussling with the girl who had nearly broken Reese in two and her dinosaur-sized fern. "Looks like I'm gonna need some help from my friends on the other side." he murmured to himself as he backed away from the bushes and traveled back and through the woods towards a dark, shadowy glade in the middle of the island's swamp; he had grabbed the clue in the cave a long time ago, and he could have easily gotten a lead too, but he needed to ensure there weren't any nasty surprises along the way.

He stopped when he reached a large, flat stone slab in the middle of the swamp surrounded by ancient cyprus and mangrove trees thick with vines and creepers. Dragonflies and mosquitoes zipped and zoomed around him in massive swarms as a chorus of frogs swallowed him in a constant din. Without saying a word, Serphonus reached into his satchel and pulled out a jar of mysterious, purple liquid that he dipped his fingers in before painting a large circle on the stone slab around him; he then divided the circle into thirds before sketching different symbols of strange origin in each section. Once the circle was complete, he slammed the butt of his staff into the center of the circle and watched as the purple paint instantly caught fire, purple and green flames licking at Serphonus's feet and pants as then pulled a voodoo out of his satchel and removed one of the needles to prick his finger and let a single drop of blood fall into the roaring fire.

There came a loud exploson and eruption of green fire before the witch doctor as a massive bull's skull with razor-sharp teeth lining its human jaw appeared before him, its black sockets glowing an ominous orange in color as more animal and human skulls came into existence around him, surrounding him like a counsel of sorts.

"Friends!" he yelled loudly, silencing the clattering of the entity's jaws and bones. "I have need of your assistance."

The main skull before him let out a loud roar that would have sounded incomprehensible to most, but the witch doctor understood it just fine. "Yes, I realize that I'm racking up quite a bill and debt to pay off, but this plan . . . this idea . . . it will help me repay you and more." he said with a grin; the council of heads shared eager looks with each other as they listened.

"As you may or may not know, I am in a competition. The humans basically watch other human spawn compete for a chance to win a rather large sum of money; useless if you ask me." Serphonus explained, earning nods from the skulls. "But if I were to acquire this money, I could literally do whatever I wanted, including paying off my debt. Unfortunately, the human spawn I must compete against have powers of their own, a few actually quite more powerful than your own." he added.

The council hissed and clattered loudly at hearing this until Serphonus held up a hand. "I have, fortunately, managed to eliminate the majority of the problem. _Unfortunately, _five others remain between me and the money; I require the Dagger of Cuervo in order to reach my goal and some of your own warriors to ensure my victory."

The head skull growled lowly, actually sending a shiver up Serphonus's spine. "Yes, I know this is a lot to ask. But let me tell you what you will regain in return." he held a patient finger as he waved his other hand in front of him before it exploded into purple flame and created small images of every contestant that had competed on the season so far. "Upon my victory, you will gain the soul of these eighteen suckers; a few of their souls, I reckon, are actually worth _more_. And those are only the first; once they are out of the they, you will receive every last soul in all of Canada as payment for my debt." he explained; the skulls seemed particularly happy upon hearing this.

"All I need is the dagger and the shadows," Serphonus grinned. "I have but one simple request."

The skulls cocked their sockets like eyebrows and leaned in to hear their prophet's demand.

"This one, Caroline. You leave her to me." Serphonus smirked maliciously as he wiped out all the small constructs of the competitors except for one of a familiar, small, frail girl. "You will still receive her soul; but _I _want the pleasure of ending her. She . . . amuses me." he chuckled darkly. "So . . . do we have a deal?"

The crowd skulls hissed and clattered at one another, discussing the deal set before them among themselves until they all started to nod and agree, urging their leader to seal the deal; the gigantic skull raised its sockets as it peered over its council of bones before nodding and lighting its eyes ablaze with fire. The jawbone of the skull clacked downward loud and heavy like a door, purple smoke and vapor pouring out to surround Serphonus as hideous, skeletal, shadowy figures slithered and oozed out into the world, remaining two dimensional and against the ground and trees like the shadows they were as a small blade slowly drifted out and into the air. Serphonus eagerly took the dagger between his fingers, admiring the feather-like design before he carefully stowed the weapon in his satchel and tipped his hat to the lead skull.

"That will be all, my friends." he said. "You'll have your payment before you know it." he grinned; the skulls hissed and clattered excitedly as they vanished in puffs of green and purple smoke. The lead skull was the last to leave, giving a low, warning growl of its own before it left in a column of purple fire, nearly searing off Serphonus's eyebrows before it vanished and the swamp returned to normal.

"Warriors!" Serphonus announced loudly as he turned around to speak with the half a dozen or so shadows that surrounded him. "It's time . . . for the games to begin."

* * *

><p>Maurananei smiled as she reached inside and scratched Larry under his tongue, a particular spot the monster plant liked; the gigantic mutant practically went limp and fell to the ground in pleasure as Maurananei chuckled and continued to make him happy. She was about to stop, tell Larry to wait outside, and head into the cave to see what was taking Caroline so long when a loud hissing noise caught her attention. The ex-criminal froze and looked around wildly, believing there to be a rattlesnake nearby; all she saw were some rather odd looking shadows moving around the base of the clearing. Curious, she peered into the dark woods, searching for anything that may have looked strange or out of the ordinary when she suddenly heard a loud whine and whimper and whipped around just in time to see Larry go sliding backwards across the ground, being dragged along by three of the strange shadows. What frightened her even more was that, while there wasn't any sort of owner attached to the shadows themselves, they were actually pulling her beloved pet away by his <em>own <em>shadow.

"Don't worry, boy! Mommy's coming!" Maurananei yelled as she raced after Larry.

Caroline came walking out of the cave a few minutes later, a cheery smile on her face. "Good-bye, Mr. Sasquatchanakwa! Sorry for waking you up!" she apologized to the gigantic ape as he held a plate of half-eaten cookies and warm milk his hands and waved farewell before turning around to hopefully go back to sleep. It was then that Caroline noticed that there was not a massive plant waiting for her outside of the cave; she gulped nervously and looked down at the small, slip of paper the Sasquatchanakwa had given her in her shaking hands. "H-Head to the cliff top and don't stop until you've hit rock bottom." she read.

Caroline didn't know what she should do; she was without Maurananei's guidance or advice to help her along, leaving her cold and vulnerable to whatever Chris would or could throw at her. And considering Chris's increasing hatred towards them, she knew it was going to be brutal. With little choice left, she began to head towards the nearest cliff on the island, shivering with worry when she glanced up at the thousand foot tall protrusion of earth in front of her. A sudden noise came from behind her, and she turned around to see Paul come running out of the cave with a small slip of paper in his fist and looking as if he had just been run over and mauled by a truck; moments later, Sasquatchanakwa came charging out of the cave, cranky and sleep deprived.

Caroline decided she didn't want to stick around and face an irritable Sasquatchanakwa, even if she did give him some milk and cookies.

Anuok arrived moments later, skidding to a stop outside of the cave and in front of the sleep deprived yeti, a calm and collective look on her face as the hairy beast glare at her; the mute girl pulled out her notepad and scribbled something down with her pen before handing it to Sasquatchanakwa. The giantic ape read over the note and nodded, turning around to head into the gave before coming back out with a slip of paper; Anuok smiled and waved good-bye as she ran towards her next destination.

_**Confessional**_

"Sometimes the best approach is to simply say 'please'." Anuok's note read as she smirked.

_**End Confessional**_

Before the Sasquatchanakwa could turn around and head back into its cave to sleep, he was suddenly struck from behind and knocked to the ground by Zelda as she stood on his back and head; the martial art expert spun her long bo over her head before cracking the weapon over the ape's skull, knocking him out and finally allowing him to get the sleep he so very much wanted while she hopped off of his unconscious form and headed into the cave to grab her clue.

_**Confessional**_

"Sometimes the best approach is to simply hit them over the head." Zelda shrugged.

_**End Confessional**_

Serphonus grinned maliciously as he watched from the trees, his smile broadening when he saw Larry being dragged across the island by the shadow warriors he controlled, with Maurananei running after her helpless pet as he struggled and fought to gain some kind of ground.

His plan was taking shape and everything was going in his favor so far. Really, the only thing stood between him and winning the challenge was Anuok; if anyone knew or asked, the reason Serphonus was so uncomfortable about the mute clairvoyant was because she was the most likely of the any of the contestants, eliminated or not, to detect his sinister scheme and try to stop him if she couldn't communicate with her fellow contestants.

The witch doctor had gone ahead once more and easily cleared the trap laid out for anyone who had been brave or insane enough to jump over the edge of the cliff and into the water below, grabbing the he needed to find Chris's location; not that he had to worry. For the moment, all he had to do was make sure that he and Caroline were safe in order for his plan to succeed. As for who the other two lucky contestants to win the challenge would be, Serphonus could care less. He swiftly descended from the trees and slunk quickly through the shadows and towards the base of the cliff, hiding in a grove of thorn bushes; a quick spell that hardened his skin to be as tough as rock helped him ignore the sharp brambles as he gazed upwards and just barely made out the small, insignificant shape that was Caroline.

He watched with anticipation as the small girl stood there for the longest time, most likely crying her eyes out in fear, before she disappeared out of sight for a brief second only to come hurtling off of the edge at a breakneck pace, plummeting like a falling meteorite as a shrill, terrified scream punched through the air like a knife; music to Serphonus's ears. It was then that he noticed that not only was Caroline coming in too hot to slow down, but she was also nowhere close to the water; the tide had gone out when she jumped.

_**Confessional**_

"I just want to make you everyone knows that I only did the following to ensure that I could slaughter Caroline in the finale. Nothing else." Serphonus growled.

_**End Confessional**_

With a grunt, Serphonus made a quick motion of his hands and muttered some incomprehensible words under his breath before thrusting his hands outwards; the air swirled and roared in a small cyclone at the base of the cliff, creating a sort of cushion for Caroline as her fall slowed slightly and gently dropped her down to the ground before dissipating and leaving Caroline there as if nothing had happened.

With her heart in her throat, Caroline climbed to her feet and looked behind her to see a second, gaping cave in the side of the cliff; gulping nervously, the frail animal whisperer quietly entered the cave, taking note of the jagged stalactites and stalagmites that thrust up from the floor and down from the ceiling, water dripping loudly in the darkness as bats squeaked loudly from somewhere overhead. Caroline found her teeth chattering, though whether it was from nervousness or the cold that the cave brought was up to debate. She suddenly gagged at the stench of smoke and looked up to see a soft glow from coming farther off in the cave; like a moth to the flame, she instinctively headed towards it until she came to a chamber filled with bubbling, hot lava that filled the air with heat and the noxious smell of melted rocks.

_**Confessional**_

"Lava!? Now I know Chris is trying to kill us!" Caroline whimpered.

_**End Confessional**_

Caroline was only partially relieved when she noticed that there were rather large stepping stones positioned in the molten rock, forming a precarious pathway for her to attempt to get to the other side and back on; with little choice left, she took a deep breath and launched herself at the first rock, just barely making it across. Taking another breath while she balanced herself, she jumped again and landed on the next rock in front of her, swiftly repeating the same motion over and over again until she had made to the other side and reached to a rusty bucket that sat on top of a stone pedestal. She reached inside and pulled out a slip of paper before slipping it into her pocket and turning around to make her way back across the pool of lava.

On the other side of the lava pool however, was Paul, looking as if he had gotten into fight with a large animal of some kind, with his shirt partially ripped and scratches marking his arms and face; Caroline gulped and quickly scrambled to the first rock just as Paul jumped, the two of them making their way across the single rock path until they landed on the middle rock that just barely held them in place.

"Don't. Move." Paul hissed.

"Wh-Why would I move w-when there's 10,000 gallons of hot, liquid death all around us?" Caroline whimpered.

"Fair point." Paul realized. "Now follow my lead." he instructed he gently grabbed Caroline by the shoulders and waited for her to do the same as they slowly turned around in a ring so that Caroline's back was towards the xit and Paul's back was towards the waiting bucket.

"Why are you helping me?" Caroline wondered.

"Because even if I didn't like you, which I don't, I wouldn't want you to have your face melted off by Chris of all people." Paul replied as he let go of Caroline and jumped to the next rock. "With any luck, I'll see you at the finish line!" he called over his shoulder; the animal whisperer nodded and quickly made her way back across the lava rocks and back towards the entrance of the cave, getting the unnerving ability that she was being watched. It wasn't until she brushed up against something oddly warm that she found it to be true.

"AAAAAHH!" she screamed, flinching and curling up into a tight ball out of fear; when she found that she wasn't under attack, she uncurled herself to see Anuok standing over with a confused look on her face. "S-s-sorry." Caroline apologized as she climbed to her feet. "I'm a l-little . . . jumpy."

Anuok nodded and gave a quick wave before making her way into the cave, leaving Caroline to walk back out into the daylight where she read her clue. "On the ocean blue, swim with your hands and feet of two (each)." she read. "Not very rhyming, if you ask me." she said to herself. With a sigh, she shrugged off the heavy sweatshirt that covered her white tank top, knowing full well that it would simply weigh her down and even drown her; having attempted to commit suicide before, she was not willing nor ready to try it again as she jumped into the lake with a _splash! _Where she was going, she had no idea.

"Soon, my little songbird," Serphous grinned maliciously from the cover of the bushes. "Soon, I shall have you within my grasp where I will pluck each and every last one of your precious feathers away from you before finally putting you out of your misery."

* * *

><p>Paul grinned triumphantly as he walked out of the lava cave at the base of the cliff, his grip tightly in his hands; his bruised and scratched arms and face now suffered from several ash and soot marks, and his face was a bright red from the severe temperatures within the cave. "I can't believe this is even legal." Paul grumbled under his breath.<p>

"_HIIIIII-YAAAAH!_"

Paul had approximately two seconds to react before Zelda suddenly smashed her foot into the side of his head and sent him falling to the ground, his face becoming buried in the sand as Zelda stood triumphantly on top of him like a hunting trophy with her trusty long bo in hand; with a smirk, the pink genius bent over and plucked the clue out Paul's hand with a smirk before hopping off of him to walk a short distance away.

"I told you that you would pay." Zelda said without looking up.

"I think I can taste my liver . . ." Paul groaned.

"Oh, please. I only hit you in the head; to even be able to taste your liver, you'd have to be blown by some underground mines or something." Zelda scoffed.

"When I'm done with you, you're going to _wish _you were blown up by some underground mines!" Paul growled, spitting out a mouthful of sand as he climbed to his feet.

"A fight, hmm?" Zelda hummed thoughtfully as he folded the clue up and put into her pocket before slipping into a fighting stance. "I'll have you know that I know how to use over two dozen different weapons and know over fifty types and styles of martial arts."

"Yeah, well, uh . . ." Paul fumbled over his words. "I can . . . I can turn invisible!"

Zelda rolled her eyes. "Please. I once beat my karate, kung fu, jujitsu, and ninjitsu instructors all at the same time with my eyes closed; they were in the hospital for two months."

_**Confessional**_

"Will I survive this?" Paul wondered. "Probably. Will I survive this without being severe injured?" he asked the camera. "Most definitely not."

_**End Confessional**_

Paul quickly focused on the chromatophores in his skin, squeezing and releasing his hold on them as his skin shifted and changed color to match his surroundings and make him all but invisible to most people; Zelda however, was not one of this people and lashed out with a swift and rather painful roundhouse kick, nailing Paul right in his chest and sending him flying across the beach, slamming into the sand and sending it flying everywhere in a large cloud. Zelda took a running start and launched herself in the air, doing a quick flip to slam her foot down on Paul's jaw with a loud _crack! _before letting herself drop down on top of the helpless, invisible boy, straddling him there with her legs as she then proceeded to punch him twice before back flipping off of him and away from the large indention in the sand.

"Surrender?" Zelda frowned.

" . . . would it be wrong if I said no?" Paul's voice groaned; several patches of sand rose into the air where Paul had been lying before falling to the ground just before several loud cracks and snaps filled the air; footprints started to appear in the sand as the invisible boy rushed at Zelda, quickly faking left and then right before slugging the pink genius in the left side of her jaw, his trickery having paid off. Zelda stumbled back, holding her aching jaw in surprise before she suddenly fell face first to the sand, her legs having swept out from under her. Before she knew what was happening, she was lifted up into the air and spun around several times before being slammed into the ground again, knocking the wind out of her.

She lay there for a few harrowing seconds, wondering how someone so crude could get the upper hand on her, when she felt a sudden disturbance in the air and suddenly jerked her head to the side to avoid another punch to the face, made clear by the fist-sized crater just inches from her head; this allowed her to draw back her leg and land a swift kick to Paul's nether regions. The invisible boy squeaked in pain as his skin reflectively flashed bright red with neon green spots and fell to the sand, unable to say anything as Zelda climbed to her feet and smirked.

"And that," she said as she tossed her hair over her shoulder. "Is why girls are better than boys."

Paul could nothing else but squeak with agreement as Zelda quickly pulled out her clue, read through it, and then stuffed it back into her pocket before diving into the lake and swimming out from the shore; Paul staggered to his, still hunched over in pain. "Back to the cave I guess . . ." he whimpered as he scooted around just in time to see Larry come to a stop and reach inside the cave with a long and flexible root, rummaging around for a few seconds before pulling it back with a small slip of paper in his grip. The mutant plant then reached up and handed the clue to Maurananei on his head, the ex-criminal looking like she had just wrestled a crocodile and grizzly bear at the same time.

"Swim out on the lake? Pfft, child's play." Maurananei scoffed before patting Larry's head. "Just like we practiced, boy."

Larry growled happily and carefully curled a root around his master's waist before giving a quick snap and sending her flying through the air and across a good part of the lake where she then came crashing down with a tremendous _splash!_

"**BEEP!**" Paul cursed.

* * *

><p>Chris waited impatiently on the small, luxury yacht he had set up out on the lake; with air conditioning and heating systems, personal wifi, a fifty inch plasma screen TV, a hot tub, and its own private bar with tender, it certainly was a small sliver of paradise in the harsh wilderness the host was forced to endure through every day of the season: the foamy-thing in the coffee machine never working right.<p>

The host was currently tanning himself on the main deck when something bumped the boat slightly; he cracked open an eye to see a pod of dolphins leap out of the water in near perfect unison next to him, dousing him with water as they sprayed streams of water from his mouths; clinging tightly to one of the marine mammal's backs was Caroline, her grip white knuckled and tight as the dolphin gave a swift motion of its tail and threw her off of its back to land on the deck of the yacht before falling back into the water with a series of whistles and clicks.

"Nice entrance." Chrs frowned as he wiped the water of his eyes. "Sadly, you weren't the first one here; Wilson managed to get here before you, but that still means you have a chance of staying in the game."

"That's a relief." Caroline breathed.

_**Confessional**_

"I'm not a very strong or fast swimmer." Caroline admitted. "So when a friendly group of dolphins offered to give me a ride out to Chris's boat and back to the shore, I couldn't pass up the chance. Plus, they're so cute and friendly!" Caroline smiled.

_**Change Confessional**_

"Caroline's connection with the inhabitants of the animal kingdom is both intriguing and quite frightening." Zelda tapped her chin. "Should she make it through this challenge . . . I'd better keep an eye on her."

_**Change Confessional**_

"You know what the great thing about having unlimited amounts of dark magic and friends on the other side?" Serphonus grinned wickedly. "You have eyes and ears everywhere." he smirked; a quick snap of his fingers, and half a dozen shadowy figures slithered up the walls of the confessional, screeching and hissing loudly.

_**End Confessional**_

"Now, take your arrow and head back to shore to shoot a bulls-eye." Chris instructed. "Or try and fail miserably. Either way works for me." the host added with a shrug; Caroline grabbed one of the suction arrows from a quiver lying on the deck at Chris's feet before hopping over the side and plunging into the water where she was swiftly carried back to shore by the dolphins.

A few seconds later, Zelda climbed over the railing of the yacht, gasping for breath as she hung over the railing for a few seconds before slumping down onto the deck of the yacht, her muscles on fire; apparently, it was not wise to swim a good half a mile or so out onto a lake after one had recently been in a fight. Chris cracked open an eye to see Zelda grab an arrow before diving over the side again, hoping to catch up to Caroline. The host closed his eye again, enjoying the silence that swept out over the lake.

_**CRASH!**_

Chris jolted awake to see Maurananei embedded about waist deep in the deck of his yacht, a surprisingly calm and placid look on her face for one who had just been sent flying the deck of a ship from their gigantic, mutant plant.

"My yacht!" Chris cried. "Also, doesn't that hurt?" he wondered.

"Like you wouldn't believe." Maurananei grunted as she hauled herself out of the hole and grabbed an arrow before stumbling over to the railing of the ship. "I've got splinters in places splinters should _never _be." she added before hopping over the side of the railing with a splash before paddling back towards shore with the arrow in her teeth.

"The freaks these days . . ." Chris shook his head. A suddenly motion caught his eye as two sets of hands grabbed hold of the ship's railing and hauled up both Anuok and Paul, both of them looking worse for wear and soaked from head to toe. "Speaking of freaks . . ." Chris smirked.

"You are _so _lucky that I'm too tired to hurt you right now." Paul panted as he rested for a brief moment before Anuok quickly grabbed an arrow and jumped over the side of the ship, quickly heading back towards shore. "Darn it!" Paul cursed as he coped Anuok and dove the side of the ship to follow her, paddling like mad to try and gain a lead.

_**Confessional**_

"I'm starting to think there's some kind of omnipotent force or something that's preventing me from winning anything this round." Paul huffed. "It can't be karma though; I haven't done anything that'd get the universe to upchuck right back at me. At least, I hope I haven't." he added nervously.

_**End Confessional**_

Serphonus grunted as he pulled the string back on the bow in his grip, his wiry arms not use to such manual labor; if anything had to be done, it usually took little more than a spell or small amount of magic for the witch doctor to get it done. That, or he had his little voodoo doll servants do it for him while he took care of more pressing matters. But those rags with stuffing for brains not only couldn't take orders, but they weren't with him in the first place. And even then, they were tiny compared to him and wouldn't be able to hold the bow anyway.

The target was a good ten yards or so away from where he stood, taunting and teasing him as it stood there in front of him, waiting for him to shoot his bow. True, he was able to fire off long range attacks, but when it came to shooting something other than spells, power, or magic, he was absolutely hopeless; he told himself though, that it didn't matter if he made the first shot or not. As long as he was one of the first four to do so, he would still be in the game.

A sudden galloping noise caught his attention, and he diverted his attention long enough to watch Caroline come riding out of the trees full speed on the back of a friendly elk; the animal skidded to a stop a few feet away from Serphonus and knelt down to let Caroline off before affectionately nuzzling her and then bounding back into the woods; Serphonus just stared, not quite believing what he just saw as Caroline fumbled to draw her bow and suction arrow.

_**Confessional**_

"Not that I'm complaining, but why are the animals so set on helping me all of a sudden?" Caroline wondered. "They normally only help if I ask them. N-Nicely though, of course." she added with a slight blush.

_**Change Confessional**_

"The sudden change in the local wildlife's behavior concerns me." Serphonus hummed, rubbing his chin in thought. "Something's off."

_**End Confessional**_

The witch doctor shook his head and returned his attention to the task at hand, his staff lying on the ground at his feet as he drew back the string on his bow and released it watching as his bow sailed through the air and smacked loudly against the target with a loud _thunk! _in the first outer ring. Serphonus cursed under his breath as he watched Caroline fire off her bow and completely miss the target, instead hitting a tree behind it.

"Damn it. Of course she would have to be the worst shot in the competition." Serphonus cursed under his breath; in order to keep Caroline in the competition, he needed to make sure she won the challenge. And fast. With a incoherent grumblings under his breath, he held his hands together and waited patiently as Caroline retrieved her arrow and notched it once more to fire it off; the witch doctor then made a quick, fluid motion of his hands and finished his incantation. The air wavered and shifted ever so slightly around the arrow, guiding it slightly and right towards the middle of the target, nailing a bulls-eye.

"And with that amazing show of marksmanship, Caroline is the winner of the challenge!" Chris announced, walking from seemingly out of nowhere like he normally did and clapping Caroline on the shoulder proudly. "She gets immunity _and _a night in the Hangout of Awesomeness! Better hurry, or you just might find your way on the first ticket outta here to Loserville!"

"Take a hint from your own cruel laughter and go away." Serphonus snarled as he drew his bow and fired off his arrow, whispering incoherent words under his breath and firing it off before moving his fingers in slight motions that he hoped no one could see; the air around the arrow wobbled and moved the arrow ever so slightly, just barely managing to direct the arrow into the center of the target.

"Serphonus, while not receiving the special treat Caroline did, is also safe for this round! Two more spots left, folks!" Chris chuckled. "Who'll be unlucky enough to not make to the next episode?"

"Hopefully, _you!_

Everyone turned their attention to see Larry come storming out of the trees, bellowing loudly and swinging his vine-like tendrils in the air, forcing Chris and Caroline to duck underneath one as Maurananei jumped off of Larry's head and hurled her arrow like a javelin at the target, nailing it right in the center as she landed roughly on her shoulder with a sickening _crack! _The ex-criminal didn't move for a few seconds before she climbed to her feet, her left arm dangling uselessly at her side.

"And Maurananei wins the third slot!" Chris announced, wincing slightly. "And a trip to the medical tent, too. If you want."

"I'm fine." Maurananei hissed as she held her shoulder.

"D-Doesn't th-that hurt?" Caroline cringed.

"You can't imagine how much pain I'm going through right now." Maurananei grunted through gritted teeth. "Oh, God, I think it's dislocated."

"I . . . I c-can fix that . . . if you want." Caroline offered.

"If saves me from having to see Chef in a nurse's outfit, go right ahead." Maurananei begged slightly; Larry lowered his head down to the ground and whimpered slightly, concerned for his own as she affectionately patted his head to let him know she was alright. While she was distracted, she felt Caroline grab her arm and pull on it slightly, a minor shifting motion that didn't bother her; that is, until Caroline suddenly gave a swift yank on her arm, a loud _snap! _echoing through the air.

"_AAAAAAAAAGGGGGH! _Sweet mother of **BEEP! BEEP! **God! What did you just do!?" Maurananei roared at the top of her lungs.

Caroline whimpered and curled up in a ball on the ground. "I-I-I . . . f-fixed y-your shoulder . . ." the animal whisperer gulped nervously, completely terrified of her friend. Maurananei blinked and rolled her shoulder slightly, noting that it no longer felt like she was slowly being lowered into a vat of broiling acid. She glanced down at the quivering ball that was Caroline at her feet and immediately regretted her actions as she stooped down to pull Caroline into a hug and effortlessly lift her off of the ground.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you." Maurananei whispered in Caroline's ear. "I just . . . forget my temper sometimes." she admitted sheepishly as she hugged Caroline close to her.

"I'm s-sorry f-for not telling y-you what I w-was doing." Caroline sniffed.

"You have nothing to be sorry for." the ex-criminal scolded her lightly. "Forgive me?"

"Yes." Caroline smiled, nuzzling her head affectionately against Maurananei's neck as they hugged each other.

"If we're done with the whole 'touchy-feely' moments, I'd like to get back to good ol' pain and humiliation." Chris interrupted; Caroline could have sworn she saw fire leap right out of Maurananei's eyes and fly right at Chris, she was so irked.

"Give me one good reason why-" Maurananei started to threaten before a flurry of movement caught all of their attentions; Paul, Anuok, and Zelda came charging out of the trees, each one of them running about even with the other as they all charged onto the archery field and grabbed a bow, drawing them all back before firing them off; a series of heavy _thumps! _resounded against the targets as the three contestants panted heavily.

"Who won?" Paul wondered.

"Dunno." Chris shrugged. "We'll have to check the footage . . . after my massage." he added with a smirk. "See you at the campfire!"

* * *

><p>The air was cool as the stars twinkled and danced overhead, forming themselves into constellations as the full moon smiled down on the earth; unfortunately, everyone was too stressed to even <em>think <em>about watching the night sky overhead, with their attentions more so drawn to the warm, crackling flames below the charming night sky.

"Well, well, well. Lookie what I have here," Chris smirked from his position at the old tar barrel that served as a podium of sorts. "A plate of exactly _four _marshmallows, but only _six _campers."

"Great. You can do math." Maurananei scoffed. "Now get on with it."

"Don't rush me! The viewing audience eats this kind of stuff up like Owen at an all you can eat buffet!" Chris snapped. "When I call your name, come up and get your marshmallow. And if you don't hear your name called-"

"You are out of the contest and can't come back _ever_." Zelda recited with impatience. "We've all seen the show and been through this ordeal at least a dozen times. _Get on with it_."

Chris glared at the contestants before him before grabbing the plate of marshmallows and tossing all but one of them at the impatient teenagers before him. "Wilson, Maurananei, and Caroline, you're safe. And the final camper to receive a marshmallow is . . ."

"I swear, if you pause one more time, I will break every bone in your body." Maurananei growled.

"Can I help?" Paul asked.

"Alright, already!" Chris yelled loudly. "Zelda! Your safe!" Chris huffed, tossing the marshmallow carelessly at the pink genius before throwing the empty tray of marshmallows over his shoulder without care; Anuok and Paul were stunned, sharing looks with each other. "Yes, yes, it's always a shock. Now get going; torpedoes don't launch themselves."

"One second." Paul snarled; Chris watched with confusion and then fear as Paul triggered the chromatophores in his skin, slowly vanishing from view. The host's eyes glanced around fearfully, searching for any sign of the invisible teenager before his head suddenly snapped upwards with a loud cracking noise; Chris then suddenly doubled over in pain, holding his arms to his stomach as he gasped for breath just as he was suddenly shoved forward by some unseen force in the butt. The host thought the worst was over until he was suddenly yanked to the heavens by his undergarments, a loud squeak of pain coming from him as he crumbled to the ground in defeat.

"Alright. All set to go." Paul reappeared into existence as he dusted off his hands; Maurananei, Wilson, Zelda, and Anuok clapped politely as Caroline flinched upon seeing Chris. Well, she only flinched slightly. She didn;t like him all that much. "Shall we?" Paul asked, holding out his elbow' Anuok blushed slightly but nodded, holding up a single finger to pull out her notepad and quickly scribble something down before tearing the page off and running over to Chris to quickly tape it to his back before rushing back over to Paul and linking her arm through his.

"We'll see you at the finale." Anuok waved good-bye. Everyone did a double take and starred at Anuok as she smiled mischievously and an equally surprised Paul along with her towards the Dock of Shame.

"Seeing as how Chris is down for the count . . ." Zelda cleared her throat before turning to the camera. "We're down to the final four. How soon will it be before there are no more? Find out next time on Total! Drama! Pahkitew's Vengenace!"

"Hmmm. 'Kick Me'." Maurananei read the note taped to Chris's back before a sinister smile crossed her face while she cracked her knuckles. "If you insist, Chrisy!"

_**Confessional**_

"Two, possible one more episode before the finale." Serphonus chuckled to himself. "I'm surprised no one's figured it out yetl then again, if that clairvoyant didn't see it coming, none of them will. I'll I have to do is lie low until it's just me and Caroline . . . and then, the fun begins!" he cackled. "If you're watching Micheal . . . hope you got a nice casket picked out. You ain't see your pathetic brat of a girlfriend anytime soon."

_**Change Confessional**_

"You wanna know one of the perks of having one of, if not _the _most powerful weapon in the universe strapped to your wrist is?" Micheal asked as he leaned against the side of the outhouse confessional. "You can get anywhere you need to be faster than any plane, boat, or car could get you there." he smirked slightly before his expression became stern. "Watch out, _Serphonus_. The end is nigh, for you." he hissed darkly.

_**End Confessional**_

* * *

><p><strong>And there we go!<strong>

**Finally, after a month of putting this off, a couple of sick days, and countless hours wasted on dealing with life and school work, it is here! The finale is coming, ladies and gentlemen! Place your bets on who will win!**

**On an unrelated note, if you guys could please do me a solid? For the next challenge, I need several dozen or so dares/truths (big guess at what's coming next). If you could include those in your reviews, it would be _very _much appreciated. We good? Okay. Thanks!**

**As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!**

**Hasta Luego!**


	19. Truth or Tiger Shark

**Hello and greetings, everyone! Been a while, hasn't it?**

**Anyways, it's getting close to finale time! As a result, this chapter will be shorter than the others, but this just means that I'll be able to post the finale sooner! And when that's all said and done, and after perhaps a month of rest and editing, I'll be able to post the first chapter me and my collaborator, the always wonderful _Jeptwin_, have created for all you lovely people to see! The drama lives on!**

**As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!**

Onward!

"Last time, on Total Drama: Pahkitew's Vengeance!" Chris announced as he lounged on a lawn chair on the edge of the dock, sipping on a coconut with a little, paper umbrella. "I sent the remaining contestants on a wild goose chase all around the island and then some! They ran helter, they ran skelter, all for the chance to get immunity and a chance to get their grubby, little mitts on the million dollar prize! Serphonus showed us all a much darker side to him, Caroline proved that she could miraculously take care herself without Maurananei around to constantly threatening me- I mean, _protect her,_" Chris corrected himself quickly. "And in the end, Paul and Anuok proved that just because you have lame super powers doesn't mean you can't fight! I learned that one the hard way." he winced.

"But that was then, and this is now! Four pathetic contestants remain, but only two can go to the finale! Who'll watch, who'll botch, and who will back stab their friends for the million dollar prize?" Chris listed off. "Find out now, on Total! Drama! Pahkitew's Vengeance!"

_**(theme song plays)**_

Caroline was running, running as fast as her legs could carry her through the dark, foreboding woods; the trees were ancient and gnarled, their leafless branches looking like wicked claws that reached and lunged for her, clawing at her face and chest as she ran past them in a panic. She yelped as she tripped over a large root, slamming painfully into the ground and knocking the wind out of her; with little time to waste, Caroline scrambled to her feet and continued running.

The air was moist around, suffocating her like a blanket as whatever wet leaves managed to cling onto the unforgiving branches of the trees slapped at her face and arms; jagged hollows and holes in the trunks glared at her like grizzly faces, as if daring for her to come close and climb them. Caroline ignored the angry trees and continued running through the woods, stumbling over a log and falling down to the ground again, cutting her hand open on a rock.

"_I sense your fear . . ._"

Caroline's heart was in her throat as she scrambled onto her back, her breaths quick and short as she glanced at the swirling, black cloud of fog and mist fast approaching her, swiftly consuming everything in its path with an almost insatiable appetite; the fog reached for her, sprouting several wispy tendrils that reached for her, just barely missing as Caroline backwards and scrabbled to her feet to continue running.

"_You can't run forever . . ._"

Caroline wanted to scream, to cry out and beg for the nightmarish threat to leave her alone, but she couldn't find her voice, her throat too parched from running for so long; her legs were throbbing and burning, slowly melting as her arms pushed aside threatening branches and imposing brush, suffering multiple cuts and bruises that oozed with crimson blood. Whatever was chasing her seemed to be following the very scent of the precious liquid that flowed through Caroline's veins like a hungry predator.

And Caroline was the prey.

She was about ready to give up and let whatever was chasing her take her, hopefully granting her a painless death, when she caught sight of a shadowy figure in the twilight of the forest; she instinctively ran towards the figure and nearly collapsed with relief when she saw that it was someone she knew, Mitchell of all people. She and the Pyronite had never really been friends, but they were on friendly terms to say the least. Caroline wanted to scream at him, to beg him to ask for protection, but once again the words failed to reach her lips; thankfully, he seemed to sense what she wanted and clenched his fists tightly, flames exploding around his hands and head as lava rocks sprouted all over his body and surrounded him in a protective, molten armor. With a silent hiss, he summoned a pair of hot coals into his hands and hurled them at the approaching, black mist without hesitation; the cloud didn't even flinch and only rushed faster at the pair, swiftly descending on them.

Caroline was ashamed to say that she ran away as fast as she could, leaving Mitchell to be consumed by the monstrous entity with a loud crunching and snapping noise, as if the thing's mouth were snapping his bones and crushing the lava rocks that covered his body. She continued running and running and running some more, pushing her way through the woods until she came across two more figures in the darkness by very nearly running into them; they turned out to be Alan and Zelda.

Without a word, Zelda pulled out her collapsible bo staff and whipped out a pair of katana blades that she tossed to Alan, the ex-pervert spinning them around in his fingers and wielding them like a professional; the two of them shared a silent look before rushing at the approaching fog, screaming quiet battle cries as they were instantaneously swallowed by the fog mere seconds later.

"_Delicious . . ._"

The vast cloud dark, misty fog was fast approaching, hungrily consuming all in its path in its slow, almost leisurely pursuit of Caroline; as Caroline came across more and more of her friends and fellow competitors, rushing to them for the help that they silently offered, they were swallowed by the approaching cloud with little effort. One by one they fell, Anuok, Paul, Toni, Alex, Reese, even Mortisha, all fell by the dark, black fog that relentlessly hunted Caroline through the dark woods, never faltering in its endless quest to satisfy its eternal hunger.

Eventually, Caroline had enough and collapsed to the ground, heaving and breathing heavily as she lay there with dead grass scratching at her face, unable to run anymore. With a breathless grunt, she rolled herself over onto her back to face the impeding fog that was almost casually rolling its way towards her, as if it was in no hurry to catch her and slowly devour her; as Caroline lay there, helpless, the fog parted slightly to reveal a figure floating at its center, its physique almost skeletal in appearance as it moved its bony hands to direct and move the mist's movements. All Caroline could see however, were the figure's dark, purple eyes glowing in the fog as a deep cackling echoed in her ears.

A sudden roar caught her attention and she looked up just in time to see a gigantic shadow pass overhead, a darkness so massive that she could comprehend it as Micheal effortlessly stepped over her in his Titanite form; the colossal alien roared again and clenched its fingers into fists as Caroline caught sight of a tiny figure clambering up the behemoth's side to stand defiantly on Micheal's shoulder. Upon closer inspection, she realized that it was Maurananei.

Caroline watched helplessly as the Titanite rushed at the approaching fog and drew back a massive fist to plunge it deep into the dark mist, actually seeming to drive it back briefly as Maurananei launched herself from the Titanite's shoulders and dove headfirst into the black fog, blowing out a decent sized portion as Micheal raised up a foot to stomp down on the fog, blasting it away. The fog hissed venomously as it parted to form several strong, wispy tendrils that quickly wrapped around the Titanite's arms and legs, restraining it as it fought and struggled to free itself; Maurananei fared slightly better, being smaller and more quick than Micheal, but eventually she was caught to by a lucky tentacle and was pulled into the depths of the fog, forever lost. The Titanite above Caroline bellowed in defiance and fought with all its tremendous strength, slowly losing ground until it fell to the ground on its stomach and was dragged into the depths of the mist, its fingers leaving deep trails in the earth as it tried to pull itself free.

"_Mmmm. Not bad . . ._"

* * *

><p>Zelda groaned in her sleep, curling up tighter into a ball as she groped around for her nice, warm blanket; when her hand grasped nothing but bare rock, she stirred and blinked open her eyes to blearily take in her surroundings. With a grunt, she sat up and yawned, stretching as she looked around to find herself in the depths of a dark, dank cave.<p>

"Hello?" Zelda called out, shivering slightly at the slight breeze that rustled past her bare skin; sitting in a cold cave in ones pajamas was not a recommended past time.

"Good. You're awake." a familiar voice said.

Zelda blinked. "Micheal? What are you doing here?" she gulped nervously.

The pink genius watched as the watch wearer stepped out from behind a rock formation with a severely annoyed look on his face as she walked over to her and leaned up against the wall of the cave with his arms folded over his chest. "I need your help."

"Me? You need my help?"

"That's what I said." Micheal confirmed as he shifted his hands to dig around in his pocket before he fulled something out to show Zelda; it bared resemblance to a thick arm band, rimmed with a dark black trimming with a lighter shade of purple. Stuck in the middle was something similar to a watch face with a simple design like that of silver, fanged jaws with a black tongue slithered out over them against a dark purple background. The moment Zelda laid eyes on it she backed away with fear, not wanting to see the device that had nearly caused her elimination and the very destruction of the world at the fingertips of a madwoman.

"W-Why did you bring that back?" she gulped nervously.

"Because it's your only hope." Micheal said grimly. "Wilson . . . he's not what he seems."

"What does Wilson have to do with this?" Zelda asked, slightly more relaxed than before.

"He's been lying to you this whole time," Micheal frowned, his grip on the faulty Animatrix tightening. "His real name is Serphonus, a witch doctor that can perform all sorts of dark magic, voodoo, hoodoo, and who knows what else; that challenge where we had to sing? He really turned Chris into a frog."

"Wish he would have stayed that way, too." Zelda smirked before becoming serious again. "But that's impossible; maybe with some special effects or holograms, but there is no such thing as real magic. Science does allow-"

"Does science allow room for aliens?" Micheal countered. "Granted, there are actually groups out there that study xenobiology, but do the mass majority of them believe they exist?"

"No . . ." Zelda admitted.

"Then the same goes for magic. Trust me, if it's possible for people to be able to play with fire, sound, and even our own image the way we do, then magic's not too far out of reach." Micheal shook his head.

"But why do you need my help?" Zelda wondered. "If he's so bad, can't you just turn into your four-armed creature and crush him like a piece of paper?"

"Nisilaha." Micheal corrected. "And I can't; if I make any sudden moves, he'll kill Caroline or any one of you; plus, Chris could penalize one of you if I interfere with the competition. I need someone smart to fix and _properly _finish off the Animatrix so that if Serphonus makes it to the finale, whoever is against him won't die instantly and can hopefully defeat him."

Zelda sighed; ever since she had been blackmailed into helping Kiko make her own bootleg Animatrix of her own to try and take the million dollar prize and then rule the world afterwards, she had been pretty much cut off from the others, confined to just herself. No one wanted to talk to her unless they absolutely had to, and even then they tried to avoid talking to her or being near her in any manner, always leaving her alone. As if nearly having every bone in her body being broken and nearly dying in a forest fire wasn't punishment enough.

"Can't you just . . . turn into something super smart? I mean, there has to be some sample of a really intelligent life form in that device. The probability that there isn't is too low."

"I would, but just by being here I'm breaking the rules of the contest." Micheal shook his head. "It has to be you."

"But-"

"Zelda, if you don't, Serphonus will _murder _the world. With the million dollar prize and his endless resources of dark magic, he can do anything he wants and nobody will be able to stop him; even I might lose at one point or another." Micheal explained. :If you do this, you'll have fully redeemed yourself; the world will see you as a hero."

"A . . . a hero?" Zelda blinked.

Micheal nodded. "And who knows? With your massive intellect, you be like the next Metal Man." he joked slightly as he held out the deactivated Animatrix to Zelda. "So? Will you do it?"

Zelda hesitated for a second before closing her fingers around the deivce. "I will." she nodded.

"Good." Micheal smiled before he dug into his pocket and pulled something else out that he tossed to Zelda, the genius barely managing to catch it before it fell to the cave floor.

"How . . . how did you get my phone?" Zelda marveled when she noticed that she was holding a familiar touch device with a pink casing in her grip. "I thought Chris confiscated all of our phones and stuff when we came to the island?"

"You should know by now that no lock or prison can withstand me." Micheal smirked. "If you have any trouble figuring it out or have questions, call me. Let me know when you're done, too; I have some modifications of my own that I'd like to add when you're done."

"Thank you . . ." Zelda sighed with relief. "I . . . I won't let you down."

"I don't doubt you." Micheal smiled as he tapped the Animatrix on his wrist and cycled through the roster before selecting a suitable transformation and slamming a hand down on the waiting activation button. His violet skin began to blister horribly, feathers patterns printing themselves across his arms and legs as his nose and mouth fused together in a horrific show into a hard, horny beak. Micheal's eyes turned gold in color as they moved a little ways away from their current position, sharpening to a thousand times better than before as his arms cracked and shifted their bones into a different position. The feathers all across his body were popping out in quick, random movements all across his body as hos clothes disappeared into thin air; his feet tore through his shoes as they melted into three talons, his heel grinding and groaning as it was forced out the back of his foot, becoming a fourth toe as his legs thinned and became scaly and hard. Tail feathers sprouted from the base of his spine as he shrank down to the size of a cat, his arms spread wide as dark brown wing feathers suddenly popped out and his head turned a snowy white, completing the transformation as a red collar formed around Micheal's neck.

With a screech, the bald eagle gave a flutter of its wings and alighted down on Zelda's shoulder, digging his talons in as gently as possible before poking her with its beak; not being well versed in the language of birds of prey, Zelda simply smiled as Micheal preened her hair with his beak, combing the nasty tangles and snarls into fluid locks before nipping at an itch under his right wing. Satisfied that his point (whatever it may have been) had been made, the raptor leaped off of Zelda's shoulder and furiously flapped its wings to gain altitude before letting itself soar high into the sky on a warm thermal; with a farewell screech, the bald eagle flew off into the distance until it was nothing more than a speck in the sky.

"Oh, this is gonna hurt my brain so much." Zelda sighed.

* * *

><p>Chris grinned maliciously as he stood behind a podium on top of the island's stage, his sinister gaze flickering across the four remaining contestants; Zelda looked weary and kept on getting distracted by Wilson for some reason as he cleaned his ear. Maurananei looked like she wanted to murder something, hideous bags underneath of her eyes while Caroline looked like she hadn't slept in days, jumping at the slightest of noises. In short, today was going to be particularly fun for the sadistic host.<p>

"Morning, competitors! Sleep well?" the host asked.

"N-No." Caroline trembled.

"Drop dead, McLean." Maurananei snarled.

"You are so lucky my license to kill has expired." Zelda grumbled as she mindlessly twirled a pair of throwing knives in one of her hands while resting her head on her hand out of boredom.

"Fine, actually. Thanks for asking." Wilson nodded with a bright smile; Chris made a mental note to wipe that side Wilson's smirk off as soon as possible.

"Well now, enough beating around the bush, as they say. Time to beat you!" Chris cracked; none of the remaining contestants were the slightest bit amused. "Now then, believe it or not, the producers have run out of both legal and inexpensive ways to torture you-"

"Thank, god." Maurananei grumbled under her breath.

"So we asked your fellow competitors to see f they have anything in mind!"

"Oh, god, no." Zelda cringed.

"Yep! Turns out, they had a lot of ideas." Chris chuckled darkly. "Took a while to get them all legally cleared, but it'll be worth it. Get ready to play I Triple Dog Dare You: Teen Freak Show Edition!"

"You are treading on thin ice, McLean. Very thin ice." Maurananei narrowed her gaze at the narcissistic host with one of her infamous death glares; Chris cringed and recomposed himself after mentally telling himself that there was no way Maurananei would be able to kill him in his sleep. At least, he hoped.

"And you're just recycling ideas from previous seasons!" Zelda pointed out.

"Well . . . Chris did say they were out of ideas." Wilson offered.

"Maybe, but that still means he's lazy!"

"Alright, enough!" Chris shouted, silencing the three chattering contestants; Caroline had opted to hide beneath the desk she had been seated at, wishing that her current nightmare would end soon. "Here's how the tortur- I mean, game goes: spin the Wheel of Misfortune and receive a challenge from an ex-contestant. Upon selecting a contestant, you will roll this die to receive either a truth or a dare." Chris explained, holding up a large, foam die with a glowing, yellow halo on three of the six sides and a white skull and cross bones on the other three; several of the contestants shared nervous looks with each other. "Now, you can either chose to perform the truth/dare yourself and get a freebie bottle in the process, which allow you to skip a truth or dare of your choosing, of sic it on one of the three other poor saps in the hopes of knocking them out of the challenge and securing a spot for you in the finale."

"I-I don't like this." Caroline whimpered.

"That makes two of us." Maurananei grumbled.

"Three." Zelda chimed in.

"Ppft. Are you kidding me? Chris is a genius for coming up with this!" Wilson smiled, clapping his hands in admiration; Chris blindly drank in the small praise while the three girls shared odd looks with each other.

_**Confessional**_

"Since when is Wilson such a **BEEP! **kisser?" Maurananei wondered.

_**Change Confessional**_

Zelda tapped her chin in thought. "If what Micheal has told me is true, then Wilson is Serphonus and Serphonus is Wilson; logic tells me that there may have been a Wilson at one point in time, but he has long since lost himself to his darker personality. That or there was never a Wilson in the first place." she hummed. "I don't know exactly what Serphonus is playing at this time, but I have more important matters to worry about for the moment." she frowned with determination, holding up the prototype Animatrix in her hand.

"Micheal and the world is counting on me."

_**End Confessional**_

Chris grinned maliciously; now was the best time to throw in the surprise twist. "And as an added bonus, for me at least, two of you will be going home tonight!"

"Wait, what?" Zelda cocked an eyebrow at this.

"Oh, no." Caroline gulped.

"Are you **BEEP! BEEP! **out of your **BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! **mind, McLean!?" Maurananei swore as loudly as possible, making the host cringe and widen his eyes at her choice of words while Caroline took cover underneath of her desk; she loved Maurananei like a sister, she was her best friend, but that didn't mean she wasn't terrified of her temper and the consequences that came with it.

"Nope! Totally being serious!" Chris flashed his trademark smile as best as he could without flinching under Maurananei's threatening glare.

"You're just getting lazy!" Zelda protested.

"No, I'm making sure this show ends on schedule, otherwise we have to pay extra for the air time." Chris frowned. "It's because of you ungrateful, little freaks that this show is cutting into my vacation time."

"Because you brought in extra contestants!" Zelda argued. "Of course you would have less time for a vacation!"

"Hey, I don't have to give you the million dollars if I don't want to." Chris shrugged.

Zelda frowned. "Actually, you're legally required to hand over the prize money to whoever wins this sorry excuse for a competition."

"If it's so bad, why did you sign up for it?" Chris countered with a cheeky grin. "And besides, I'm the host! I can do whatever I want!" he laughed; Zelda unfortunately, did not have an answer to that and fell back into her chair with an irritated huff of annoyance. "Now then, if there are no more interruptions, it's time to play

I Triple Dog Dare You: Teen Freak Show Edition!"

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Maurananei growled.

"Maybe." Chris chuckled. "And thank you for volunteering yourself, Maurananei. You're up first!"

_**Confessional**_

"When I win the million, I am going to hire a personal contract hitman and send him after Chris," Maurananei frowned. "And if that doesn't work . . . I always did like getting my hands dirty."

_**Change Confessional**_

"This won't end well." Caroline trembled.

_**End Confessional**_

Grumbling under her breath, the ex-criminal begrudgingly walked up to a large, grand, wooden wheel with photos of all the previously eliminated contestants crudely taped into marked off sections of the wheel and spun it around in a tight circle, remaining unmoving as it stopped on Anuok's picture.

"Now it's time to roll the dice!" Chris grinned.

"I'm not an idiot, McLean." Maurananei hissed as she took the foam block from Chris's hand and promptly chucked it at the stage floor, creating a small hole and landing the die on the image of a skull and crossbones.

"Uh, a dare." Chris gulped nervously as he cautiously kicked the die out of the hole in the stage and read off a small index card. "Wrestle a tiger shark."

"Okay, now you're just insulting me." Maurananei frowned as Chef pushed up a large tank of water onto the stage with a large, gray shark covered in dark brown stripes floating around inside; the burly cook then climbed a small ladder and onto a diving board over the tank before proceeding to prick his finger and drop a single speck of crimson blood into the tank. Chef then had approximately three seconds to jump off of the diving board and back onto the stage before the voracious tiger shark leaped out of the water and bit the diving board off in a single bite.

"Funny fact about tiger sharks," Chris grinned in the hopes of freaking Maurananei out. "They're known as the 'trash cans of the sea', since they will literally eat anything, including people."

"Back home, they called me 'La gouttière de poisson'." Maurananei stated.

"Wh-What's that mean?" Caroline gulped.

"Trust me when I say you don't want to know, Cupcake." the ex-criminal gave her a warm, friendly smile before turning to face the tank with a sinister frown, glaring angrily at the savage and blood lusting tiger shark inside. Without hesitation, Maurananei charged at the tank and jumped in, instantly turning the water into a frenzy of churning, pink bubbles; Caroline watched through her fingers, only managing to catch glimpses of Maurananei's leg or the tiger shark's tail in the battle before it suddenly to a stop with Maurananei holding the voracious, oceanic predator in a headlock. The shark managed to shake itself free before turning the tank into a cloud of bubbles and thrashing water again before coming to another stop, this time with Maurananei holding the shark's jaws open with her feet and struggling against the beast's terrible jaw strength.

Caroline could tell that her friend was losing air fast, if the trail of bubbles constantly trailing from her lips and mouth was anything to go by; fortunately for her, Maurananei slugged the tiger shark in the nose before gaining the upper hand and grabbing it by the tail before proceeding to beat the shark against the sides of the tank like a rag doll before giving a final move and tossing it clear out of the tank and out into the lake a short distance away with a satisfying splash!

"And that," Maurananei grinned as she resurfaced and shook water out of her hair. "Is why I'm banned from Germany."

Chris merely blinked, stunned, as Maurananei shook herself dry and took the freebie from the host's fingers before retreating back to her seat with a satisfied smirk on her face.

_**Confessional**_

"This could be tougher than I thought." Zelda mused.

_**End Confessional**_

"Zelda, you're up." Chris smirked, beckoning for the pink genius to come hither and approach the wooden wheel; she gulped and spun the wheel with a mighty thrust, biting her lip as she watched images of Paul, Reese, Alex, and Kiko fly by her vision, becoming almost a blur until the wheel stopped on Tajira's angry face.

"Time to roll the die and see what fate has in store for you!" Chris chuckled, tossing the foam die to Zelda.

"I'm not an idiot, Chris. I have an IQ 199." Zelda frowned as she made some quick calculations in her head to figure how much force she should use to roll the die in her hands and succeed in getting a golden halo; she didn't feel like overstimulating her muscles and mind right now when she knew she would be using them for hours on end to complete the prototype Animatrix in time for the finale. And with the threat of two competitors being sent home, she didn't have any time to waste if that person ended up being her. Zelda gave a small movement of her wrist and tossed the die into the air, watching it bounce off the wooden stage and roll a golden halo, exactly as she had planned.

"What is your most prized possession?" Chris read off another index card.

"Oh, come on! She gets asked to answer that while I wrestled a tiger shark!?" Maurananei cried with exasperation.

"Do you regret it?" Chris cocked an eyebrow.

"Not in the slightest." Maurananei smirked. "Please, continue."

Zelda sucked in a deep breath and relaxed; it wasn't one of the really big, tough questions she had anticipated, and this made it much more easy for her. "Simple. My stuffed dog, Spot. I never go anywhere without him."

"You mean that old rag that Chef found and used to clean the communal washrooms?" Chris wondered with an all knowing smirk on his face.

"WHAT!?" Zelda screamed at the top of her lungs; unfortunately for Chef, he decided to stroll across the set at that very moment with a bucket of water, a mop, and a stuffed dog slung over his shoulder that was covered from head to tail in a thick coating grime and sludge. With a loud screech that would have rivaled a harpy, Zelda leaped upon the hapless cook and proceeded to beat the ever living tar out of him, much to Maurananei's amusement.

_**Confessional**_

"I'll admit, I didn't like Zelda at first, especially after how she helped Kiko nearly destroy all of us, no matter how accidental it was." Maurananei shrugged. "Anyone who hates Chef as much as I do and is willing to beat the living daylights out of him is OK in my book." she smiled, giving the camera a thumbs up.

_**Change Confessional**_

"Now I'm scared of Chris, Chef, Kiko, and Zelda." Caroline whimpered. "I didn't know legs could bend that way."

_**Change Confessional**_

"Oh, Spot! Look at what they've done to you!" Zelda sniffed as she held her precious, stuffed animal out at arms length, unable to handle the awful stench coming from her most prized possession. "Don't worry. As soon as I get home, I'm giving you a good bath, I promise!" she got over the revolting odor and hugged Spot close to her, despite the way the stuffed dog stained her pink clothes.

_**End Confessional**_

"Despite putting Chef into intensive care, Zelda has won herself a freebie!" Chris announced with a satisfied smile as a pair of medics carted off the injured cook without batting an eye; Zelda took her freebie and went back to her seat with the revolting remains of her stuffed dog under arm. The rest of the contestants promptly scooted away from her about a dozen feet or so, though this didn't bother the pink genius in the slightest. "Now then, I believe it's little Ms. Animal Whisper's turn."

"M-Me?" Caroline gulped.

"Yes, you." Chris grinned with a sinister smile. "Come up and spin the Wheel of Misfortune!"

Caroline sucked in a deep breath and cautiously crept up to the wheel, glancing back to receive a reassuring nod and 'hurry up and get it over with' gesture from Zelda; as rude as the gesture might seem to some, Caroline knew the pink genius was only trying to help. After all, prolonging the inevitable would only make it worse. With this in mind, Caroline grabbed the wheel and spun as hard as she could, nearly falling flat on her face as the wheel spun around and around, buzzing past pictures of Monique, Toni, and Mitchell before finally settling on a picture of Eduardo. Naturally, the emo was not smiling in the slightest.

"Yeesh. Is that his face or a Halloween mask?" Chris cracked as he tossed Caroline the die.

_**Confessional**_

"Seriously, Chris?" Serphonus pinched his brow. "I actually had more respect for you, what with how you tortured us in the past few weeks; but that's just cheap." the witch doctor sighed. "I'll admit, waiting in the shadows for the perfect time to strike and sabotage Zelda and Maurananei is not only tougher than I thought, but also boring. Might actually consider taking out that magical clone of mine I made and take it's place." he tapped his chin in thought as he absentmindedly twirled a razor-sharp dagger shaped like a crow's feather around in his fingers.

_**End Confessional**_

Caroline took the die and tossed it up into the air, crossing her fingers and biting her lip while she hoped to whatever powerful deity might be watching over her, regardless of whether it be of Greek, Chinese, Aztec, Roman, or even the Great Law of Karma, would not let her roll the fearsome skull and crossbones that signified a dare.

Naturally of course, the die rolled the dreaded skull and bones.

"Ooh! You're not gonna like this one!" Chris grinned wickedly as he glanced over the card with the challenge, his cruel smile broadening even further. "Douse yourself in chicken grease-"

"I don't like this already." Maurananei frowned.

"Th-That makes two of us!" Caroline gulped.

"If I may continued?" Chris frowned, not happy that he had been interrupted and had the camera's attention stolen from him. "Douse yourself in chicken grease and head to the bear cave . . . which has been stocked with a pride of hungry, sleeping lions. Find out which lion is returning contestant Toni, and you win a freebie. Ya know, provided you survive and stuff."

"This is insane!" Maurananei roared. "You're trying to get her killed!"

"Hey, I'm not the one who wrote the dare." Chris shrugged. "And besides, legal's already cleared it. So in the event that she

does die, it won't be my fault; she signed the contract after all." she smirked triumphantly. "And imagine the ratings we'd get!"

The host had approximately three seconds to just barely duck out of the way of a

very sharp dagger thrown his way, courtesy of Maurananei and Zelda, the later letting the former borrow one of her many weapons. "Alright, alright! Enough with the threatening of my person!" Chris griped. "Caroline, you can either take the dare yourself or pin it on someone else. Like maybe someone who doesn't have a freebie!" he added in a low voice, jerking a thumb in Wilson's direction.

Caroline gulped nervously and glanced between the three available contestants she could (most likely) send to their death. "I . . . I-I . . . I choose-"

* * *

><p>"Can I just say this is disgusting?" Maurananei grumbled under her breath, shaking her head in an attempt to get some of the fresh chicken grease off of her; she could only hope that Alan wasn't watching and that the editors would censor the footage, considering she was pretty sure that everyone could see through her wet top.<p>

"Sorry!" Caroline apologized a fair distance away.

"Ah, don't be. This'll be like taking candy from a baby." she waved the apology off, cracking her knuckles with a wide, confident grin on her face.

"Yeah, a six-hundred pound baby with teeth the size of your hand and claws strong enough to scratch a car door." Wilson mumbled under his breath as Maurananei fearlessly marched into the mouth of the cave and silently picked her way through the pride of sleeping lions that had been packed into the cave to the brim; the ex-criminal could only hope she picked the right lioness and not one that would not enjoy having its nap disturbed.

_**Confessional**_

"Too easy." Serphonus cackled. "Maurananei's goin' home one way or another."

_**End Confessional**_

Stifling a cackle under his breath, Serphonus slunk in the shadows of the nearby forest, watching as a baited Maurananei bravely walked into the lion's den, making double sure she didn't accidentally step on any tails or paws. Once he was sure the ex-criminal was deep with the recesses of the cave, he slipped his staff under his arm and cupped his hands together, forming a ball of raw power and magic tha formed a hot ball of flame between his fingers; once hot enough, he thrust his arms forward and lobbed the ball of unstable energy into the mouth of the cave, the spell too quick for anyone watching to pick up with the naked eye.

"What was that?" Zelda blinked, rubbing her eyes.

"Probably one of the cameras malfu-" Chris shrugged before an explosion rocked the ground and nearly made the group of competitors Chris fall flat on their butts as the cave lit up like the Fourth of July; a series of enraged and loud snarls, growls, and roars quickly followed as the lions all woke up and converged on the one thing in sight that looked remotely like food, which unfortunately happened to be a chicken grease covered contestant.

"MAURANANEI!" Caroline screamed as her friend's screams met her ears. She was about to forget about all of the rules and regulations that would prevent her from interfering with the dares to save Maurananei as best as she could, begging the lions to leave her alone, when she realized that Maurananei's yells were not of terror but of anger and triumph. This prompted Chris to put on a face of confusion while Zelda and Wilson shared concerned looks with each other as Caroline nervously bit her lip, hoping her friend would make it out alive; from the way the yells and savage roars only increased in volume, her hopes were starting to diminish.

After what seemed an eternity of waiting, the noise finally died down and stayed that way for the longest time, much to Caroline's horror until a slight movement caught her eye; she blinked and peered closer at the cave to see Maurananei come staggering out from the cave covered in soot, dust, and several nasty looking scratches that tore into and ruined her clothes while she dragged a grumpy lioness by the tail out into the daylight.

"That's for biting me." Maurananei grumbled, managing to flip the massive cat over her shoulder and to the ground with some effort, panting heavily and grunting with surprise as Caroline slammed into her and hugged her tightly relieved that she was alive; the lioness currently lying on the ground growled with annoyance and climbed to its feet, shaking its head before it fluidly resumed the form of a mocha skinned girl that stood up and cracked her aching back.

"Can I go now?" Toni frowned. "I'm gonna be feeling this for a long time."

"Yeah, sure, whatever." Chris waved her off; Toni's mocha skin began to horribly blister as feather patterns formed all over her body, thousands of quills suddenly popping out at the same time. Her head, back, chest, arms, legs, all of them suddenly sprouted feathers like she in a stop-action film of plants growing. Her lips grew as hard as fingernails, pouting outwards into a sharp, hooked beak. Her arms and fingers stretched outwards, her fingers molding together into fine points as the joints in her arms loudly positioned themselves. She was shrinking all the while, her toes all molding together in three larger ones that were perfectly for grasping things as sharp, hooked talons formed on the ends. Her heel ground and shifted as a fourth toe grew out from behind her, also sporting a razor sharp talon as her feet and ankles hardened and became crusty. Long tail feathers sprouted from the base of her spine as a small bump of flesh on her butt became her tail as her feathers turned black on top and snowy white and gray under her. Flight feathers suddenly popped into existence on her arms, completing the transformation as her eyes turned golden and sharpened to almost a thousand times better than they were before.

With a farewell screech, the bald eagle took to the air and circled high above before flying off towards the horizon on a warm thermal, though not before ruining Chris's hair with a small 'present' from her posterior.

"AGH! Makeup!" Chris wailed.

* * *

><p>"And, after a grueling twenty minutes of torture, our four remaining contestants stick it out to the limit!" Chris grinned, leaning against his podium; Zelda glared back at him with a black eye she had received from a grizzly bear and her arms and neck were covered in dozens of small cuts and scratches. Maurananei remained relatively unscathed, save for the occasional moments when she suddenly duck under her desk and vomit up her stomach contents with Caroline rubbing her back to help her as best as she could. "And with seven freebies and no sign of backing down, Maurananei has taken the lead! Following close behind with two freebies is Zelda, and both Wilson and Caroline are tied for third with one freebie each.<p>

" . . . Drop dead, McLean . . ." Maurananei moaned.

"Don't worry, Maura, we've got plenty more sick and twisted dares and truths in store!" Chris smirked as Maurananei managed to stop puking and wipe her mouth with her sleeve, guzzling down one of the freebie bottles in one swig.

"These things have water in them?" Wilson cocked an eyebrow.

"Soda, actually. Cherry Cola, if I'm not mistaken." Maurananei replied, slamming the bottle down on her desk and turning to glare at Chris. "Lets get this over with, McLean."

"Alright, alright. No need to throw needlessly sharp weapons at my head," Chris grumbled under his breath. "Wilson, you're up! Think you can handle it on your own and not pawn it off on somebody else this time? Not that I'm complaining." the host chuckled. Wilson shrugged and climbed out of his seat to walk up to the Wheel of Misfortune and give it spin, watching the images of eliminated contestants whiz by his eyes; Micheal, Paul, Reese, Mortisha, Trey . . . the wheel finally stopped on a picture of Alan.

"Ooh! Alan!" Chris chuckled as he tossed Wilson the die. "This should be interesting!"

Wilson didn't seem bothered by this in the slightest and gave the foam cube a small toss, watching as it rolled through the air and bounced along the stage before coming to a stop on a picture of a skull and crossbones.

"Another dare?" Zelda frowned. "The odds of rolling a dare on that die twenty-four times in a row are too astronomical for this to be fair!"

"Nobody cares, Zelda!" Chris snapped before recomposing himself and reading off the index card he had been provided. "Ooh, you're not gonna like this! Or maybe you will. Either way, someone's gonna hate someone else in the next few days!"

"Just get on with it!" Maurananei roared angrily.

"Alright, alright! Sheesh!" Chris frowned. "Kiss the person sitting next to you: on the lips. So, what'll it be, Wilson? Pucker up or back down and pin the dare someone else?"

_**Confessional**_

"Child's play." Serphonus smirked. "With Caroline sitting next to me and nobody on my left, I have full choice of who to pin the dare on. And who better than the biggest threat right now? Micheal . . . I hope you're watching."

_**End Confessional**_

Wilson tapped his chin in thought. "Hmmm. Tough one, Chris." he mumbled. "I think I'll give this one to . . . Maurananei."

"You owe me five bucks." Maurananei smirked, turning to Zelda with an open hand, only to find that the pink genius had vanished from her seat and out of sight or range; the ex-criminal blinked and slowly turned around in her seat to glance back at the single remaining contestant next to her, Caroline.

_**Confessional**_

"Micheal, whatever happens next, please don't kill me." Maurananei pleaded.

_**End Confessional**_

"Well . . . uh, this is . . . awkward."

"That's an understatement." Chris smirked, his grin broadening further and further when he noticed Caroline's entire face turning a bright, beet red and looking like she wanted to curl up into a ball and crawl into the smallest crevice she could find. "Now if you don't want to get the boot, Maurananei, I highly suggest you pucker up and start smoochin'!"

"Where did I put that dagger . . ?" Maurananei grumbled under her breath, patting her pockets and ducking under her desk to check the vomit stained area beneath her feet; Chris quickly plucked the knife embedded in the stage behind him and carelessly tossed it over his shoulder and out of sight, ignoring the yelp of surprise/pain that followed.

"Time's a tickin'!" Chris tapped his watch with a devious smile.

"Oh, for the love of entrailles de poisson-" Maurananei started before she grabbed Caroline by her small shoulders and turned her around, passionately smashing her lips against the small girl's with hesitation; she began to move her lips in a slow rhythm, if for no other reason that to make sure that Chris wouldn't be able to play against her.

_**Confessional**_

"Alan, eat your heart out." Serphonus smirked.

_**Change Confessional**_

"Alan, you and I are having a little . . . chat . . . when we meet again." Zelda frowned, pulling out her collapsible bo staff and whipping it around her back and shoulders with deadly precision.

_**End Confessional**_

"Okay, okay! Enough! You've made your point!" Chris yelled, covering his eyes and waving his hands wildly in an attempt to make the two girls stop kissing; after a few more seconds of fruitless struggling on Caroline's part, Maurananei finally let go and released the frantic animal whisperer from her hold.

"S-Sorry." Maurananei smiled sheepishly. "I, uh, got caught up in the moment."

"That's an understatement." Wilson snickered slightly; upon being released, Caroline promptly fell dead to the floor, unmoving and hardly seeming to breath too.

"And with that, we check if Caroline is still alive and give Maurananei her eighth freebie of the challenge!" Chris announced. "Zelda, you're up!"

"You are a sick man, McLean." Zelda mumbled as she climbed down the face of a nearby tree headfirst like a sly, flexible cat; she cast Caroline a sympathetic look before she spun the Wheel of Misfortune and stepped back, waiting several seconds until it landed on a picture of Kiko.

"I'll take a dare, thank you very much." Zelda put up a hand as Chris made a move to hand her the foam die. "The odds that I'll roll a truth are so small a monkey would have a better chance of writing the complete works of William Shakespeare."

"Um, what?" Chris blinked.

"You've never heard of the Infinite Monkey Theorem, have you?" Zelda sighed, deadpanned. "As an animated villain voiced by Jeremy Irons once said, 'I'm surrounded by idiots'."

"Just take the dare already." Chris sighed, picking out the card Micheal had written both the dare and a death threat on. "Swim in piranha-infested waters for five minutes."

"Wait, what?" Zelda blinked as a pair of interns struggled to push a large tank of water up onto the stage; a third intern climbed up a ladder on the side of the water filled tank and dropped a hunk of ham into the water below. It took approximately five seconds for the water to churn into a frothing, bubbling mess that quickly spat out a large bone riddled with teeth marks.

"Hope you know how to swim." Chris chuckled as another pair of interns grabbed the inert pink genius by the arms and dragged her to the take, carrying her to the top of the ladder. "Any last words?"

"I . . . I . . . I use a freebie!" Zelda gulped.

"Good call," Chris nodded. "Especially considering you can't swim."

"Can't swim, eh? How fortuitous." Serphonus hummed from the shadows.

* * *

><p>"Okay, even I'm starting to get bored of this." Chris yawned, drumming his hands impatiently on the podium; Maurananei had recently run out of freebies, losing them to willing stripping on international TV, kissing an alligator, and eating live cockroaches. Zelda had also run out of freebies, suffering multiple injuries from irritated crabs, a disgruntled house cat that didn't want to be declawed on TV, and a seriously annoyed squid that wasn't too keen on being swallowed alive and whole. Caroline and Wilson however, were the only two that didn't seem to suffering horribly, with a freebie each.<p>

"D-Does that mean we c-can stop?" Caroline quivered.

"Unfortunately, no." Chris frowned. "The network requires that a contestant, in this case two, be eliminated each episode,. Unless, of course, there's a surprise team swap in store."

"So we're stuck until two of us get booted, huh?" Maurananei sighed. "Can't two of us just surrender or something?"

"One slight issue with that," Zelda frowned. "Which two of us has to quit? I thought even

you would be able to figure that out."

"And what's

that supposed to mean?" Maurananei narrowed her eyes.

"I thought out of all of us lunatics stuck on this island you were one of the more sane ones." Zelda sighed, rubbing her temples.

"Are you saying I'm stupid?" Maurananei frowned.

"No, but it's somewhere pretty close."

"THAT'S IT!" Maurananei roared, lunging at Zelda; the pink genius jumped back at the last second, whipping out her collapsible bo staff and whacking Maurananei over the head with it. The ex-criminal screamed with anger and grabbed the legs of her desk, effortlessly lifting it over her head and chucking it at Zelda, watching with satisfaction as she was hit full in the chest and sent flying across the stage; Maurananei followed up by charging across the stage and slamming her fists into the desk, reducing it to slabs of wood and splinters.

"Maurananei! Zelda! Stop!" Caroline pleaded.

"No, keep it up! This is awesome!" Chris encouraged.

_**Confessional**_

"Once again, fate plays right into my hand." Serphonus chuckled.

_**End Confessional**_

"Time to beat some sense into ya!" Maurananei snarled, grabbing a desk leg and raised it above her head to bash Zelda over her own head with; the pink genius raised her bo staff at the last second and blocked the strike before she kicked Maurananei in the knee and climbed to her feet in her opponent's time of weakness, lashing out with her bo staff like a sword. With her desk leg, Maurananei fended Zelda off as best as possible, lashing out with her weapon and parrying any attempts from Zelda to hit her.

"I don't (grunt) know about you, but (ugh) I took fencing lessons (ergh) back home!" Maurananei grunted as she attacked Zelda.

"And I know more than a dozen different types of martial arts." Zelda countered before she dropped down to the ground and swiped Maurananei's legs out from underneath; the ex-criminal fell flat on her back, knocking the wind out of her and just barely managed to react as Zelda leaped at her. She caught Zelda by her fist and gut before flipping her over and slamming her into the stage a couple yards behind her, sending splinters and wood everywhere; scrambling to her feet and cupping her fists together, she jumped through the air and brought them down on Zelda's chest, knocking the wind out of her and punching her repeatedly in the gut to keep her sedated.

"Go for the jugular!" Chris rooted.

"Chris! Please! Stop this!" Caroline begged. "Can't you get in there and do something?"

"Are you kidding?" the host scoffed as Zelda grabbed Maurananei's upcoming fist and forearm and managed to flip her over. "I'll get creamed!"

"That wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, now would it?" Maurananei grunted as she climbed to her feet and caught Zelda's upcoming bo staff in her hands, struggling against the pink genius' momentum before she used it to swing her around and throw her into one of the stage's curtains, tearing it off. With Zelda's bo staff now in her possession, Maurananei charged at the jumbled mess of velvet cloth and started to relentlessly beat it, raising up a foot to stomp down on what she guessed to be Zelda's head.

"Hold still, you!" Maurananei snarled, positioning to kick Zelda in her chest only to have the bundle of curtains throw itself at her and tackle her to the stage; the two of them rolled around on the stage in a wild frenzy, rolling and tumbling about and crashing into things, much to Chris's horror. Despite his screams and protests for them to stop, the two of them continued to wrestle about on stage, punching and slugging each other without mercy and crashing into things all the while.

"Stop it!" Zelda screamed as she crashed into Chris's podium and destroyed it.

"No, you stop it!" Maurananei shouted back as they crashed into another curtain and broke one of the stage's main support beams in the process.

"Maurananei . . ." Caroline tried to say.

"Not now, Cupcake! I'm beating the ever livin' tar out this wench!" Maurananei snapped as she and Zelda rolled back stage and crashed into one of several dozens props that had been strategically stacked back in the shadows; the stage trembled and shook with every movement the bundle of curtain, arms, legs, and now stage props made as it barreled back out on stage and nearly ran Chris over, instead crashing through the rest of the desks and chairs set up for the competition before then smashing through the Wheel of Misfortune.

"My Wheel of Misfortune! No!" Chris wailed.

"Maurananei . . ." Caroline spoke up again.

"Kinda busy right now!" Maurananei yelled.

"Can't you see . . . we're tussling!?" Zelda grunted, managing to gain the upper hand and slip out from under the curtain and climb to her feet; Maurananei followed, still covered in the curtain and looking very much like a ghost. The ex-criminal gave a banshee-like scream and lunged forward, only to be given a roundhouse kick to the stomach by Zelda and sent flying across the stage and slam into another one of the stage's main support beams, sliding down to the stage with a groan.

"I'm gonna feel that in the morning . . ." Maurananei groaned.

"Maurananei!" Caroline screamed.

"What?" Maurananei wondered before a loud creaking and groaning noise met her ears and she looked up to see the stage trembling and shifting all around her.

"My beautiful stage!" Chris wailed as the entire structure came collapsing down on him, Zelda, Maurananei, Caroline, and Wilson in a cloud of wood, rubble, and dust; after a few seconds of awkward silence, Maurananei lifted up a large beam off of her, tossing it aside with a grunt.

"You okay, Cupcake?" Maurananei glanced down at Caroline; the ex-criminal had managed to rush across the collapsing stage at the last second and use herself as a shield to protect her at the cost of several dozen splinters embedded rather deep in her back.

"F-Fine." Caroline gulped, her heart pounding in her chest. "W-Where's Caroline?"

"Over here . . ." Zelda moaned, crawling out from under a pile of curtains and stage props.

"You alright?" Maurananei asked.

"Fine." Zelda replied. "What we're we doing anyway?"

"You mean other than acting like complete and utter

**BEEP! **Heads, fighting like little, bratty kids, endangering our friends and Chris, and destroying a grand stage with Chris's face on it?" Maurananei listed off. "Because, lets be honest, that last one was totally worth it."

"Maybe." Zelda chuckled before sighing. "Look . . . I'm sorry I got so full of myself."

"Nah, it wasn't that bad. Besides . . . I am kinda insane, now that I think about it." Maurananei shrugged it off with a small laugh. "I mean, how else do you think I got banned from Germany?"

"Never will taste that sweet beer, will you?" Zelda joked.

"Do you have to rub it in?"

"S-So . . . are you friends now?" Caroline wondered.

Maurananei and Zelda blinked and turned to look at each other before bursting out into laughter. "Yeah, I guess we are." Maurananei admitted. "By gones be by gones?"

"Affirmative." Zelda nodded with a smile.

"This is nice and all, but you're forgetting one eensy, weensy, tiny, little detail," Chris coughed as he cralwed out from under the remains of his glorious stage. "_YOU DESTROYED MY BEAUTIFUL STAGE!_"

"Oh, as if you don't have enough memorabilia with your face on it." Maurananei rolled her eyes.

"No, no I don't! There can never be enough of my gorgeous face! Never!" Chris roared with anger. "Which is why you and Zelda are booted from the competition for destroying my precious stage!"

"

WHAT!?" the three girls exclaimed with surprise.

"You heard me! No ifs, ands, or buts! You're outta here!" Chris screamed furiously. "You have one hour to pack your bags before you meet me at the bonfire pit!"

* * *

><p>The wind was cool in the air, causing the warm, crackling flames to flicker and dance at the bonfire pit; the moon was full overhead with a sea of fog rolling in over the lake. A crow cawed in the nearby trees, making the hairs on the back of Maurananei's neck just barely stand on end while their shadows and danced and wavered into horrifying creeps and ghouls in the firelight.<p>

"Why are we here?" Zelda wondered. "Wouldn't it just save time if you sent us home already?"

"Trust me, I would love

nothing more than to send you two harpies flying, but the network requires a bonfire elimination every episode." Chris shrugged. "Plus, I like marshmallows."

"Just get on with it." Maurananei sighed, grumbling curses under her breath.

"Fine. Caroline and Wilson," Chris announced. "Congratulations on getting to the final two of Total Drama: Pahkitew's Vengeance! You two will be duking it out, fighting to the death in the grand finale for a chance to win one million dollars!" the host cackled before his phone buzzed and he answered it. "Correction. Not to the death, but very close."

"You're stalling. And frightening Cupcake." Maurananei frowned, wrapping an arm around a trembling Caroline's shoulders and giving her a comforting hug; the animal whisper blushed a deep crimson, remembering earlier in the day about how close she had been forced to get to Maurananei.

Chris sighed with annoyance produced a tray with exactly two marshmallows on it. "I have two, fluffy, delicious treats of sweet freedom in my hand here, but only four undeserving contestants to give them to; which ones will be lucky enough to stay in the game and which ones will be unlucky enough to earn a ride home on the Torpedo of Shame?"

"Chris, I hate to point this out now, but you already told us who was safe." Wilson piped up. "You're just being redundant."

"Fine. Caroline and Wilson, you're safe. Zelda and Maurananei get your butts off of my island before I call the police." Chris frowned, tossing Caroline and Wilson their marshmallows.

"No help necessary." Maurananei waved the threat off before putting her fingers to her lips and giving a shrill whistle; a loud roar cut through the quiet of the night and the ground began to rumble and tremble, clouds of birds and bats sent flying out of the nearby trees as a few were carelessly knocked and pushed aside like blades of grass until Larry emerged from the forest. Caroline yelped with surprise and fell off her log, the gigantic, mutant plant looking quite frightening in the hostile glow of the campfire.

"Who's a good boy? Who's a good boy?" Maurananei cooed as she scratched Larry under his chin, earning a satisfied purr; the ground started to shake again as one of Larry's roots uncontrollably pounded the ground in pleasure.

"Oh, no you don't! Larry's staying here with me!" Chris argued.

Maurananei frowned. "Hey, boy, guess what Mommy got ya? A new chew toy!" she babied the giant plant once more, grinning with a sinister smile and pointing at Chris; the host had turned a pale shade of white as his former plant turned to look at him, growling and drooling excessively. "Sic 'im."

Maurananei was kind enough to cover Caroline's eyes as Larry lunged his head forward at Chris and snapped the host up in his jaws, hugging the greatly frightened girl close to her while Larry struggled against Chris's pitiful attempts to be eaten; after several seconds of tossing the host around in his mouth, Larry managed to toss him up in the air and catch him in one snap, proceeding to slowly chew on him as he screamed and scrambled around in his mouth.

"I-I-Is he gonna b-be okay?" Caroline trembled.

"I'll have Larry spit 'im out long before that happens." Maurananei reassured her, stroking her head to sooth her. "But what about you? You gonna be okay here on this island without me and Micheal?"

Caroline gulped and sucked in a deep breath; she knew from the very beginning that if she ever made it onto the show, ever made any life long friends, or even a boyfriend, that she would at one point have to go on without them, whether she was the one being eliminated or not. Even if her friends hadn't been at her side, she had been in a war, she had hunted a psycho, she had rode across the Wild West, battled on the high seas, fought off an ancient curse, defeated mythical monsters, sang on international TV, stopped the destruction of the world, fought against seasoned bounty hunters, trudged across the frozen tundra, and survived the zombie apocalypse, she had still done all of those things, regardless of whether she was alone or not. "Y-Yeah. I'll be fine." she tried to sound brave.

"That's my trooper." Maurananei smiled, giving Caroline a final hug. "You win for us, got it? I want some moolah between my fingers as soon as possible." she joked.

"I'll try." Caroline nodded.

"This is touching and all, it really is, but shouldn't we be going soon?" Zelda piped up.

"Yeah, I suppose we should." Maurananei nodded before standing up and giving a second whistle; Larry paused his chewing and gave a disappointed whine before spitting Chris back out in a spray of wet slime and mucus, the host covered in thousands of little teeth marks. Shuddering slightly at the wet feeling that covered his entire being, Chris promptly got up off the ground and ran screaming into the forest, presumably towards his trailer.

"Guess that leaves us to sign off." Zelda sighed as Larry lowered his head to the ground so Maurananei could climb on; Zelda held up a finger and turned towards the camera, smoothing down her hair in an attempt to look good. "We're down to our final two! Will our winner being everyone's favorite animal whisperr, Caroline? Or will it be the mysterious, average, no good, lying, son of a- Wilson." Zelda corrected herself upon hearing where she was going. "Find out next time on Total Drama: Pahkitew's Vengeance!"

"I think you've been on this island for too long." Maurananei said as Zelda skillfully climbed up Larry to sit next to her.

"You have no idea." Zelda sighed, looking back down at Caroline and biting her lip when she caught sight of the hungry look in Wilson's eye as he stared at the oblivious animal whisperer.

**And there we go!**

**As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!**

**Hasta Luego and Happy Halloween!**


	20. The Final Battle(s)

**Hello, one and all!  
><strong>

**Well, here we are, ladies and gentlemen (and several other unmentioned races of beings out there. I'm looking at you vampires!), at the end. Wow, it feels so long ago. Then again, this story was, what, a year in the making? Yeah, it has been a long time.**

**I can actually kind of see why SYOC stories don't really do all that well on this site, with a few exceptions that I greatly applaud; you have a limited audience that you know will tune in for nearly every chapter or until their character is booted, your expected to update on a routine schedule, and it eventually somehow gets boring, like you're stuck in a rut. I'll admit, I was actually close a couple times to ending this story just because I didn't think it was very good, compared to my other works.**

**But I'm glad I stuck to it, because now I can give SYOC stories a better reputation than they have and I'll get a sense of accomplishment for completing another story, bring the number up to three! And of course, there's you guys who have (mostly) stuck with me through thick and thin, reading my updates, giving me feedback (both positive and negative, which is appreciated), and helping me when I'm stuck and don't know how to get out.**

**So in gratitude to all of you lovely readers, enjoy the final chapter of _Total Drama: Pahkitew's Vengeance!_**

"Last time on Total Drama: Pahkitew's Vengenace!" Chris began his usual recap of the last episode with slightly more enthusiasm than he normally faked. "In a desperate attempt to come up with some hilarious content for our blood thirsty viewers, I put our remaining four contestants through an insane variety of challenges and dares and truths sent our way by none other than their fellow ex-contestants, who had more than enough hate to satisfy our fans until today!" the host concluded as he came to a stop at the end of the dock.

"Today is none other than the season finale of Total Drama: Pahkitew's Vengeance, where our final two will battle it out for a chance to win _one million dollars!_" Chris declared as a lowly intern presented him with a metal suitcase stocked to the brim with crisp, green dollar bills; the host beamed brightly at the camera as he took a sidestep to his right just as a large, pink tentacle with serrated hooks embedded deep into the rotating suckers rose out of the water and slammed down on the unwitting intern and dock, dragging the helpless assistant down into the depths as Chris caught the suitcase of cash left behind.

"And if I have anything to say about it, it will be our biggest finale yet!" Chris chuckled as he closed the case. "And fortunately, I _do. _So sit back, relax, and grab some snacks because this is the season finale of Total! Drama! Pahkitew's Vengeance!"

_**(Theme Song: Why didn't this play at the beginning of the season?)**_

_**Dear Mom and Dad, I'm doin' fine,**_

_**you guys are on my mind.**_

_The camera swings wildly before regaining its balance as it travels up a stream and past Chris as he relaxes in a lawn chair drinking a smoothie, only to suddenly be yanked up into the air and given a forceful wedgie as Paul fades back into existence with a vengeful smirk on his face; the camera pans past the unfortunate host and travels through the thick forest as several trees suddenly are sucked down into the island's mainframe while others pop back out in new and varying spots, revealing Zelda experimenting with an exposed panel on a large pine tree. The Pink Genius is promptly interrupted as Kiko slaps the screwdriver she's currently working with out of her hand and hands her a crude, watch-like device that is only half built before jerking a thumb back behind her and signaling for her to get back to work._

_**You asked me what I wanted to be,**_

_**And now I think the answer is plain to see,**_

_Alan pops out from a tree above, hanging upside down and wearing crudely made camouflage gear with a pair of disguised binoculars in his hands that he aims and points at Zelda, admiring her face for the briefest of seconds before aiming downwards to stare lovingly at her sizable cleavage, drooling slightly; he's promptly interrupted as a large Pteranodon with a spiked, red collar around its neck swoops down from the skies and effortlessly plucks the scrawny boy out of the tree and soaring up into the air. Moments after reaching a climax, the pterosaur lets Alan go and watches as he falls to his doom, plunging down beforehand and alighting down on top of one of the large cliffs that marks the island and becoming encompassed in a flash of red light to reveal Micheal dusting his hands off as Alan plummets past him, screaming.'_

_**I wanna be famous!**_

_Alan plunges into the lake just offshore, sinking beneath the barrier between sky and water before a large whale surfaces beneath him and regards him for a split second before spouting off a jet of wet air and water from its blowhole and sending Alan flying once more; the massive marine mammal disappears after a few seconds to reveal itself to be a bikini clad Toni wringing her hair out before the water explodes next to her from an invisible force, confusing her greatly until she is splashed from behind by Paul. The two of them then get into a water fight as Mitchell flies by overhead on fiery jet propulsion, steam curling off of his body after occasionally getting splashed._

_**I wanna live close to the sun,**_

_Mitchell continues flying over the forest absentmindedly until Alan crashes into him from above and sends the two of them sprawling into the dirt, dazed and bruised and only becoming more injured as Reese, with a smoking joy buzzer in hand, runs them over in a panic to get away from a furious Maurananei, who looks as if she had just been in an explosion of some kind. The two of them race along through the island until Chef drives by them in the opposite direction in a jeep, diverting Maurananei's attention towards him while Reese makes his escape, only to slam into a rock that suddenly jutted out of the ground in front of him._

_**Go pack your bags, 'cause I've already won!**_

_Trey is seen rocking out on stage in front of a wall of massive speakers that would have easily decimated any normal person's eardrums before he is suddenly and abruptly cut off from Mortisha dropping down on him from the rafters overhead, landing on his shoulders with a wild look on her face and riding around on him like a horse much to her amusement; both the musician and creepy girl only pause in their struggle to regard Chef as he hastily rushes past them with Maurananei on his tail and a hungry look on her face._

_**Everything to prove, nothing in my way, I'll get there one day!**_

_Caroline is sitting on one of the stumps at the bonfire pit surrounded by a vast collection and variety of animals that are listening and seemingly conversing with her as if it were completely normal until Chef came crashing through the trees and brush at a breakneck pace, a terrified look on his face as the forest is effortlessly pushed aside by Maurananei sitting on top of Larry's head; the animals gathered around the bonfire area immediately scatter out of fear, leaving Caroline to tremble and cower beneath the awesome plant's might as it reaches down with a tendril and picks her up off of the ground to place on his head. Maurananei gives her a comforting smile and wraps an arm around her for safety as Larry continues the chase after Chef._

_**'Cause I wanna be famous!**_

_Tajira is seen locked in an arm wrestling contest with a large, humanoid creature with a pair of gigantic conductors sprouting out of its broad shoulders composed of patchwork skin, a disk with a red and silver jaw marking jutting out of the creature's right pectoral as the two of them struggle to make any ground. Alex is watching intently with a whistle in his mouth and ready to blow, acting as the referee between Tajira and Micheal while Monique sits off to the side blasting her hair with copious amounts of hairspray and filing her nails before she notices the camera trained on her and blasts it with her hairspray in anger at being caught not fully prepared._

_**Na na na na na na na,**_

_The arm wrestling match is abruptly interrupted as Alan runs screaming by them with an angry Cape buffalo charging after him, Paul hanging onto the animal's horns as he whoops and cheers excitedly while Micheal, Tajira, and Alex stare; Micheal however takes advantage of the distraction and slams Tajira's hand into the stump they are using as a table, swallowing himself in a flash of red light and emerging the victor. In response to this, Tajira decks him across the face, earning a blow of Alex's whistle before she turns to threaten him, too._

_**Na na na na na na na!**_

_The Cape buffalo races along the docks in its mad chase after Alan, barely even noticing as it slams into Eduardo and tramples him into the dust as it finally corners Alan on the end of the docks where he drops down to his hands and knees to begin praying, begging for forgiveness as Toni paws the ground with a hoof while Paul hangs onto her horns, preparing for the charge; the buffalo surges forward and Alan, panicked, dodges to the left and succeeds in avoiding getting run over as Toni charges past him and falls into the lake with Paul._

_**I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be famous!**_

_Serphonus appears in a puff of black and green colored smoke with a malicious smile on his face as he leers at the camera, digging into his satchel and pulling out a small chest that just barely fits into his palm; upon opening it, the fiery image of a black demon with jagged teeth and horns flies out of the box for a brief second, dwarfing the witch doctor before he slams the lid shut with a sheepish grin and tucks the box back into his pocket. He then picks up his staff and slams the butt of it into the ground, disappearing in a flash of smoke as Anuok watches from above, situated on a tree branch, with a disapproving look on her face as day swiftly turns into night._

_**I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be famous!**_

_Caroline smiles with an excited and nervous expression as she sits comfortably on Micheal's lap in front of the crackling, roaring fire with Maurananei by her side; Larry lowers his head down to her level to receive a warm scratch under his chin as the rest of the cast briefly flinches under the mutant plant's presence before calming down slightly to (mostly) enjoy each others company under the stars. Paul and Toni sit on a log together holding hands while Zelda sits with her back to Alan as he profusely and unsuccessfully tries to apologize as Kiko watches the scene unfold with a devious smirk upon her lips. Anuok regards the scene around her before sighing and gesturing with her hands above her towards a neon sign that blinks to life, spelling out the words "Total Drama: Pahkitew's Vengeance" for everyone to see._

_**(Whistling in tune)**_

Serphonus starred intently at the sleeping form of Caroline as she dozed off underneath of a nice, warm blanket on the one of the multiple sofas in the Hangout of Awesomeness; being the final two, they were both granted access to the allusive paradise before they would be competing against each other in the grand finale. To the witch doctor, the flat screen TVs, multiple video game consoles, artery clogging snacks, and cushy beanbag chairs and couches meant nothing to him, merely mild distractions and annoyances that attempted to divert his attention away from his primary goal.

With a sinister chuckle, the witch doctor leaned his staff against the beanbag chair he had set residence up on, fishing around in his seemingly bottomless satchel to pull out a large dagger about twice as big as his hand, the sharpened edge nicked and seemingly gnarled from years of misuse to the point where it appeared to slice the very air into ribbons; the handle was like that of the quill of a feather, the small bristles that made up a bird's plumage fluidly melting into the sharpened blade of the weapon. Serphonus ran his fingers over the blade, smiling wickedly at the reflection that peered back at him before he was interrupted by a slight rustling noise.

Fearing that Caroline was awaking, Serphonus prepared to hastily stow the Dagger of Cuervo back into his satchel when he realized that it was merely half a dozen or so shadows that barely lifted up the garage door of the Hangout of Awesomeness to slip inside and slither across the floor and walls to come to a stop around their temporary master, awaiting orders.

"Soon, my friends." Serphonus smirked as he took notice of a small ant that had managed to slip inside to try and scavenge on the large amount of sugary junk food that was readily available and let it skitter up onto his finger. "Soon, our time will come. U shall have my million dollars and my debt paid off, and you, you shall have what you desire most; and our enemies . . ." the witch doctor seized the moment to catch the ant off guard and crush it effortlessly between his thumb and index finger with a malicious smirk. "Will be crushed like bugs."

A sudden movement caught his attention and the shadow warriors quickly dispersed to slither and hide in the darkest corners of the Hangout as Caroline stirred and slowly woke up; Serphonus stowed the Dagger of Cuervo back into his satchel and faked sleep as the animal whisperer finally woke up with a tired yawn, her head looking more like a gnarled rat's nest than her actual hair.

"Wilson? Are you awake?" she asked softly.

Serphonus didn't reply and merely gave off a loud snore.

Unfortunately, the witch doctor wasn't able to remain this way for long when none other than Chris' infamous air horn; Serphonus jolted out of his false slumber and fell to the floor, landing in a stick puddle of knocked over soda as Caroline yelped with fright and instinctively hid under her blanket, accidentally tangling herself up in the sheet and landing on the witch doctor's back and head, pushing his face even further into the stained carpet.

"Attention final two! Meet me at the bonfire ceremony _now!_" Chris' voice rang out through the loudspeaker. "Unless, of course, you don't want your _one million dollars!_"

"The first thing I'm gonna do if I win is make every last second of his life a misery." Serphonus mumbled to himself in the carpet, his voice too muffled for Caroline to hear the threat very well.

* * *

><p>Chris waited impatiently, glancing at the wrist watch strapped to his arm while he tapped his foot to pass the time; for once, the narcissistic was not waiting for his only two contestants to show up late for the challenge he had set up for them, not they were already there standing next to him with slightly confused faces. "C'mon, already! What's taking them so long?" Chris griped.<p>

"Wh-Who are we waiting for?" Caroline wondered, not sure whether or not she should be scared.

"Just a bunch of nuts," Chris replied as a shadow fell over him. "And by nuts, I mean the Peanut Gallery!"

"Can I squish him for calling us peanuts?" Serphonus and Caroline heard Maurananei's voice asked; tilting their heads to look upwards, they saw the ex-criminal sitting on top of her gigantic, mutant plant, Larry's, head with Zelda and Anuok sitting cross legged beside her.

"Unfortunately, I don't think are allowed to." Zelda shook her head. "I've looked over and read and reread our contracts multiple times and there aren't any loopholes that can get us out of this **BEEP! **or at least let us hurt Chris. We're trapped."

Maurananei pouted and fumed as Anuok scribbled something on her notepad with a pen and handed it to her to read. "I see sweet release in our near futures," Maurananei read over. "You know you could have just said something, right?" she cocked an eyebrow; the mute clairvoyant simply shrugged her shoulders.

"Your refusal to speak is intriguing." Zelda noted.

"You know what else is intriguing?" Maurananei wondered. "Just how the **BEEP! **did nobody figure out we were being played this whole time?" she grumbled under her breath as Larry lowered his head to the ground to let his master and other two passengers down onto the ground before giving Maurananei an affectionate lick upside her entire body length.

"Hey, watch the language! We haven't even started the challenge yet and people are already swearing!" Chris whined.

Maurananei growled and stalked up to Chris, setting her cold gaze just an inch away from Chris' face. "I'll say anything I want, where I want, whenever I want and nothing your **BEEP! BEEP! **lawyers and **BEEP! **rules can-"

"M-Maurananei?" Caroline coughed uncomfortably.

The harsh ex-criminal paused in mid-sentence of her icy ranting and sucked in a deep breath to still her burning nerves before turning to face Caroline with a mildly forced smile on her face; she was still miffed about Chris once again being able to control her to some degree. "Nice to see you again, Cupcake." she pulled Caroline into a warm embrace.

"Y-You, too." Caroline returned the hug with a light blush to her face, her mind still hooked around the little dare her friend had been forced to enact upon her. "D-Did you enjoy your time away from the island?"

"It was nice to get away from this trash heap for a while," Maurananei shrugged. "I missed you, though."

"Anuok is telling me to also tell you that she wasn't the only that missed you." Zelda added, reading over a small note that the silent girl had handed her. The small group had approximately three seconds to react and dive out of the way to safety as something plummeted out of the sky and slammed into the ground next to them all, kicking up a large dust of dirt and dust that slowly dissipated to reveal a roughly human-sized figure; the strange creature was definitely insectoid in appearance with a tough, green exoskeleton had a pointed, durable head with two, sharp horns framing his red eyes. The most noticeable feature of the clearly alien creature, other than its weak looking arms decorated with sharp spines, a set of red, black, and white overalls, and a mouthful of needle-like, was its massive legs that bent forward and back, forming a thin webbing between the joints that looked like it would tear with any movement that was too sudden.

"Darn it! I missed Chris and Serphonus!" the Orthonopterran cursed, stomping a two-clawed foot into the earth in frustration.

"You should know by now that we can't get everything we want," Maurananei scolded Micheal as he scuffed the ground with a foot. "If we did, we'd both have a million dollars, Chris' head on a stake, and me making out with my sweet Cupcake here."

"Excuse me?" the Orthonopterran cocked a horned eyebrow in confusion as Caroline felt her face turn a deep crimson in color.

"Nothing." Maurananei replied, thankful that the thin layer of wet saliva from her loving pet kept her light blush hidden.

"My _head _on a _stake!?_" Chris shouted. "What is wrong with you people!?"

"I'd pay to see that." Serphonus smirked.

"At least that's _one _thing we can agree on." Micheal mumbled under his breath as a blast of red light swallowed him whole as the Animatrix timed out and returned him to his human form; his immediate reaction was to hiss and grab his leg by the knee, giving it a good shake. "Gah! Pins and needles!"

_**Confessional**_

"Either my voodoo dolls are working, or Micheal can predict the future." Serphonus chuckled wickedly.

_**End Confessional**_

Caroline giggled and wrapped her arms lovingly around Micheal's strong chest as he gave his foot a final thumb against the ground to get the tingling sensation out of his nerves before returning the hug with much enthusiasm, kissing his girlfriend gently on the forehead and smiling proudly at her. "i knew you would make it."

Caroline blushed. "Th-Thanks."

"Ugh, someone gag me." Serphonus grumbled his breath, quickly receiving a crack across the head from Zelda's collapsible bo staff. "What was that for!?"

"Do I even _need _to say it?" Zelda narrowed her eyes threateningly at the witch doctor.

_**Confessional**_

"Trust me, I would like nothing more than to reveal to everyone, especially Caroline, for what that son of a **BEEP! **really is," Zelda cursed, folding her arms frustratingly across her chest. "But the logical choice is to remain quiet and low for now, if for nothing more than Caroline's safety at the time; if Serphonus knew his cover was blown to his target, he'd striker faster and harsher than he ever intended to."

_**Change Confessional**_

"See this, Serphonus?" Micheal growled, clenching his hand tightly and holding up for the camera to see. "It's my fist. And it's got your name on it!"

_**End Confessional**_

"Hate to interrupt your tea party, ladies, but we've got a schedule to keep! My plane leaves in an hour and it takes twenty minutes to get to the airport!" Chris cut in with little patience left. "Where are the rest of you freak shows?"

"They should be along any minute." Zelda replied, reading over another note Anuok had popped her; a low, hollow, moan echoed through the air and they all turned to see the slick hump of a large whale slowly swimming through the lake towards shore with the rest of the remaining cast on its back; Trey and Mortisha were passionately making out, the later more so than the former, and Mitchell was sitting grumpily on one, barnacle covered patch of skin while Reese, Tajira, Monique, and Alan roasted marshmallows over his smoking head. Alex watched them enviously as he kept a trolley with a restrained Kiko strapped to it by two straitjackets, a set of handcuffs, and a face mask that kept the feral woman from biting anyone, from falling over while Eduardo sulked on the far back of the whale, wondering if anyone would bother saving him if he drowned; Paul's firm grip on the back of his pants however, kept him from jumping overboard.

"What took you so long?" Chris frowned as the whale beached herself and let everyone else climb off before focusing on an image in her head; the first thing to change was her thick, blubbery skin as it turned a deep mocha in color, the dozens of barnacles and other parasites that had miraculously accumulated since the transformation disappearing as well while her gigantic, fifty foot, forty ton frame began to shrink and deflate. Her massive bones crunched and snapped loudly as they compressed on themselves and shrank, her skull crunching with a sickening sound as it squashed back inward and shrank to about the size of a basketball; the baleen that lined the upper jaw was slurped back up into the body as small, cube-like teeth pushed back from the jaws and lined her now tiny mouth. The two, large holes that allowed her to breath in her aquatic environment molded together as she was finally allowed to breath through her nose again while her massive tail split in half right down the middle, separating into two, new limbs; the wide flukes on the end of each new leg gained mass and divided into five, fleshy toes as her gigantic bulk shrank down to a size shorter than Paul. The final piece of the transformation was the addition of human-sized clothes on her figure.

"We took a wrong turn, alright?" Toni replied, cracking her back as she did so. "Not like we want to remember this place."

"I do." Eduardo spoke up in a monotone voice. "There's bound to be something here that can put me out of my misery."

"I know, right?" Mortisha smiled gleefully.

"Okay, _enough!_" Chris roared. "Enough with the death threats, enough with the whining, enough with _everything!_ I have had it up to here with you freaks of nature! No sit down, shut up, and watch as your final two compete for a million dollars so I can get on with my life and vacation and never have to see you freaks again!"

"That's . . . actually something I can agree to." Tajira huffed. "Barring the whole 'freaks of nature' thing, of course."

"The sooner one of them wins, the sooner we can leave." Alan agreed, casting a nervous look at his girlfriend and earning a loving, yet warning glare. "What is this 'big finale challenge' anyways?"

At this, Chris chuckled maliciously, drawing skeptical and unnerved looks from the gathered contestants regardless of whether they were competing or not.

* * *

><p>"A coliseum. Your big, grand, finale challenge is a coliseum." Zelda remarked with a dead panned expression; said fight arena that the pink genius and, quite frankly, everyone else were incredibly unimpressed by seemed to have been hastily constructed over night by whatever garbage, debris, and refuse could be found lying around. Rotting planks of wood jammed into the dirt formed a secure, circular wall around a small pit with old oil drums jammed onto the top of sharpened stakes that had been tied to some of the taller planks, giving the arena the appearance of a gigantic, hungry mouth. A set of bleachers sat off to one side and below a much higher and more grand seating area.<p>

"As if the coliseum idea was bad, this is practically the same place from season four!" Alex protested; Kiko mumbled something incoherent and struggled against her bonds viciously, earning a smack upside the head. "Quiet, you."

"You're all wrong," Chris frowned. "This is the Chris-iseum, 2.0 addition!"

"Yeah, I'm _real _impressed." Paul scoffed.

"At this point, I don't care if it's impressive for you or the fans back home," Chris shrugged. "We're on a budget, our funds are all but dried thanks to all the destruction you've caused, and I am quickly losing my patience with you lot."

"What be the whole point of this challenge, Chris?" Serphonus asked, leaning on his staff with a smug grin, his wicked smile broadening when he noticed the choking motions Micheal and Maurananei were making behind Caroline's head; he knew they couldn't do anything quite yet, for fear of him enacting his plans sooner than desired, and he was enjoying it all. It didn't matter if they wanted to hurt him after he won and their friend was dead or not. That would be all inconsequential when his friends came to collect his payment.

"Simple, really." Chris chuckled darkly. "Since you all seem so hellbent on causing as much destruction and fighting as much as possible, both Serphonus and Caroline will be duking it out in a fight for million dollar prize!"

Something about this whole thing bothered Caroline. "Uh, C-Chris? Why do you keep calling Wilson 'Serphonus'?" she asked, a little nervous to hear the answer.

The witch doctor chuckled maliciously at the sweet, innocent sounding answer. "Dear child, you must really be blind to not have noticed it before. That, or remarkably stupid."

Caroline gulped at the chilling tone the wangateur used. "Wh-What are y-you talking about?"

"He's an evil witch doctor, Cupcake." Maurananei whispered in her ear.

"And he's been playing us all since day one, too." Micheal growled, socking his fist into his hand. "He's been cheating, sabotaging us all but you for the past few challenges."

"R-Really?" Caroline gulped.

Serphonus grinned wickedly at the innocent girl before him, the innocent girl that, but the time he was done with her, would no longer exist and have no chance of ever existing in another life time again; his friend's would make sure of that. "Dear child, your middle name must be 'gulliable'. I've been hiding right underneath your nose the whole time and you were too _stupid _to even see it!"

"As much as I love watching the weak get crushed, save it for the arena." Chris interrupted a rude comment Micheal was about to throw back at Serphonus and a fist that Maurananei was going to throw at the witch doctor's face; the narcissistic host didn't seem the slightest bit concerned about the pale shade of Caroline's face as she trembled with fear underneath Micheal and Maurananei.

"Chris, this is insane! You practically sentencing her to death!" Toni exclaimed.

"This is bogus!" Paul agreed.

"I'll take her place." Eduardo droned.

"You, stay out of this!" Trey snarled.

"This can't be legal." Paul added, reading off a note handed to him by Anuok.

"Actually . . . it is," Zelda sighed, earning astonished and enraged looks. "Trust me, I've looked at the contract inside and out for any sort of loophole that could work in our favor, but Chris' lawyers are good; the deal's watertight."

"And so is my victory." Serphonus chuckled sadistically. "Lets get this over with, host-man. I've got a million dollars with my name on it." he smirked, taking extra pleasure in enjoying the fact that quite literally every available hand of the eliminated cast, excluding Eduardo and Caroline, was trying to restrain Maurananei and Micheal from attacking and beating the living tar out of Serphonus. Once the two vengeful ex-competitors had been calmed down enough that Micheal wouldn't try and reach for the Animatrix fixed to his wrist every few seconds and Maurananei wasn't trying to shake a weapon out of Zelda even faster, they moved into the Chris-iseum to find that the deep pit offered shallow trenches, barricades, walls, and fences of sorts to act as hiding spots; this did little to comfort Caroline as she stole a glance at Serphonus and shivered under his cold smile.

_**Confessional**_

"Good-bye cruel world." Caroline sniffed.

_**Change Confessional**_

"Hello, million dollars." Serphonus chuckled.

_**End Confessional**_

"The first part of your challenge will be to scrounge around in this here big ol' pile of garbage for anything that might even be remotely useful in protecting yourself and cutting your opponent down into little, messy bits," Chris explained as he gestured to a massive mound of festering trash and junk, smirking slightly at Caroline's trembling figure before he caught sight of the murderous glare sent his way by Micheal that said he would make his death slow, painful, and brutal. "You'll have fifteen minutes to gather and build everything you need, so be quick!"

"Is that all?" Serphonus scoffed, glancing nonchalantly at his fingernails with boredom.

"Not quite," Chris chuckled. "Hidden deep within the layers of rotting garbage that I will enjoy watching you root through is a Chris McLain invincibility statue; find it, and you will be able to bring in one of our ex-contestants to help you in the task of crushing your opponent into the dust. Heck, you could even chose to sit back and do nothing but order your lackey around and still win the ultimate prize of _one million dollars!_" the host exclaimed dramatically as several surprised gasps radiated through the elimated competitors, sharing nervous looks with one another. "So, get crackin', while _I _sit back in my nice, comfortable chair and enjoy this ice cream cone." Chris smirked as he fell back into a comfy, plush recliner with a large smoothie cup in the cup holder, a bowl of cheesy chips waiting to be snacked on, and the aforementioned chocolate flavored ice cream cone sprinkled with nuts, chocolate sauce, and caramel syrup; a few of the ex-contestants looked at it longingly and briefly wondered whether or not it would be worth it to try and steal it away from Chris with the ever intimidating presence of Chef Hatchet while he stood guard next to his boss and occasionally stole a chip when he suspected Chris wouldn't notice.

_**Confessional**_

"I-I have to find that idol," Caroline gulped. "My very life depends on it! Oh, why did I sign up for this show?" she sniffed.

_**Change Confessional**_

Serphonus tapped his chin in thought. "Hmmm. Originally, I wasn't going to even bother in such demeaning labor, rooting through such disgusting unholy scum with my bare hands; but the thought of forcing Micheal to attack and smite his own, little girl is too much to resist." he grinned maliciously, rubbing his hands together darkly.

_**End Confessional**_

"Zelda, I know I'm probably going to regret this, but what are the odds of Caroline surviving this?" Micheal asked worriedly.

The pink genius bit her lip and did the calculations in her head, biting her lip even further once she was through. "Uh . . . approximately, rough, _maybe _. . . 19.87 percent."

The wielder of the Animatrix, to say the least, did not like those odds. "And if she finds our little . . . _gift?_" he whispered in a hushed voice so that only he and Zelda could hear.

"About 45.6 percent." Zelda replied. "And that's if she's lucky enough to know how to use it."

"Know how to use what?"

Both Micheal and Zelda startled and looked behind them to see Maurananei bending low over from her row to listen in on the conversation, her expression expectant and impatient. "I _know _this is about Caroline. I have to know." she frowned. "She's just as close to me as you, Micheal, and she means just as much to."

Micheal sighed. She was right of course; he had seen all the episodes after his own elimination, his temper wearing thinner and thinner with every confessional that his crafty, witch doctor adversary made to plot and scheme his way to the top, and took great notice in how his girlfriend and Maurananei easily got along with one another. Granted, he was mildly irked and _very _surprised when they ended up _kissing _of all things, but he let that slide with little issue. If anything, he and Maurananei were now practically in a joint relationship with Caroline, a thought he wasn't quite sure how he felt about.

"I'm sure you remember that faulty, bootleg, knockoff of an Animatrix that Kiko used earlier in the season to try and win the million dollars early?" Micheal began.

"How could I forget?" Maurananei scoffed.

"Well . . . Micheal gave it back to me to try and fully repair it and make it operational." Zelda added. "Unlike Kiko however, I was allowed as much time as I need to install all the fail safes, firewalls, and necessary software in order to prevent another 'Kiko Incident'. Unfortunately . . . I was a little pressed for time, considering my elimination . . . so there is about a 20 percent chance that it will go wrong."

Maurananei frowned. "It's a chance we'll have to take. She may end up a freak like Micheal, but as long as she's alive, that's all that matters."

Caroline felt her heart hammer in her chest, her pulse racing while sweat dripped down her brow as she sifted through the pile of rotting garbage that piled up to her knees; she normally would have been mildly disgusted, but such a thing was trivial now that her life could very well be on the line. She glanced up worriedly to watch as Serphonus clapped his hands together and mumbled something his breath as his palms glowed a sinister purple in color before a shimmering aura surrounded him and constructed two pairs of wispy, gnarled hands that he plunged into the trash and began to root around in. This only made the animal whisperer dig faster.

"Oh, how am I going to find that statue in time?" she whimpered to herself. "Not to mention some armor and proper weaponry."

The sound of something landing on the garbage above her drew her attention and she looked up to see a seagull sitting there, looking at her curiously; something else that Caroline noticed was that the poor bird had a six pack ring caught tightly around its neck.

"You poor thing!" Caroline gasped, reaching out with her hands for the seagull; the bird squawked and flapped its wings, fluttering out of reach before settling down; the animal whisperer was deterred, knowing that some of her animal friends use to be just as jittery. "It's okay, I promise. I won't hurt you."

The seagull seemed to raise an eyebrow at this. "I-I just want to help you get that garbage off of your neck. It must really hurt." Caroline noted.

The bird, oddly enough, actually deflated at this and nodded in agreement. "I can take that off for you." Caroline promised; the seagull was elated at this and squawked and honked as it hopped within Caroline's reach and held still, not daring to move a muscle as the animal whisper dug her finger nails under the six pack ring and slowly edged it up the bird's neck inch by inch. A couple minutes later, and the death trap that had previously been hooked tightly around the sea gull's neck now lay discarded amongst the rest of the refuse.

"Y-You're welcome!" Caroline smiled as the seagull happily cuddled up to her and affectionately nibbled her neck while chirping. "How can you repay me? Well . . . I-I c-could use some help." she smiled bashfully. "I'm trying to find a statue in this pile of trash, but-"

The animal whisperer was caught off as the seagull flapped out of her grasp and landed on her head before squawking loudly and in a somewhat obnoxious tone; the ex-competitors and Chris all covered their ears from the noise as Caroline watched with curiosity before her expression became elated at the sight of a gigantic flock of seagulls heading towards the arena, descending down from the sky towards the fester pile of trash and immediately setting to work in digging through and sorting the garbage, eating anything they deemed edible.

"Well . . . that's one way to search through garbage." Paul commented at the sheer amount of seagulls that had engulfed the pile of trash, smirking slightly when he noticed that several of the birds had taken to pecking and harassing Serphonus, as well as use him as a toilet if the black and white speckled spots covering him were anything to go by.

"Get off me, you rats with wings!" Serphonus snarled, swiping at the seagulls with one of his ghostly hands while the other three continued to root around and through the garbage.

"Aim for the eyes!" Toni encouraged the birds.

Caroline gave a small smile as she dug through the refuse around her, now more focused on building armor and a maybe even a weapon of sorts now that her new bird friends had the search for the statue covered. After coming across an old tire, a decomposing fish skeleton that a pair of seagulls instantly snapped up and began to fight over, and a soup can with some leftover soup in the bottom, Caroline finally found an old, beaten up washboard and some ropes that could function as a chestplate; she the pieces aside and continued to dig through the garbage, almost instantly coming across a discarded pet carrier with a rusted mace sitting inside. Elated, she picked up the carrier and reached to open the cage, only to suddenly have it explode in her hands!

"What was that!?" Tajira roared.

"Oh, yeah. I _may _have forgotten to mention the booby traps." Chris remembered innocently. "My bad!"

"Why you little-" Maurananei snarled.

"_Shush!_" Chris silenced her as Caroline coughed up a small cloud of ash and wiped the soot off of her arms and clothes.

"You might as well just give up now, girly," Serphonus chuckled, having managed to chase away a good portion of the seagulls harassing him. "Looks like anything you try'll just blow up in yer face."

Caroline narrowed her eyes at the witch doctor and sucked in a deep breath before diving headfirst into the festering pool of bacteria-infected trash; once she had gotten past the revolting stench and disgusting texture, she found that it wasn't all too different than swimming through water. Despite the unpleasant, almost liquid-like surface she was swimming through, she wasn't the slightest bit deterred; having taken swimming lessons from a family of friendly river otters. Unfortunately, this did not mean she was able to hold her breath for long, and she soon found herself resurfacing. _Fortunately, _she had managed to find an old, beat up pot that would function quite well as a helmet; once she was sure that it wasn't going to explode or try to harm her in anyway, she tossed it onto the small pile she had managed to gather.

"That's our girl." Micheal allowed a small smile at the revolted expression on Serphonus' face as he continued to dig through the garbage at a distance.

"And that's the time!" Chris announced. "Stop digging around like the filthy pigs you are and report to me immediately!"

"That's an insult to pigs everywhere." Toni grumbled under her breath.

"I found it!"

A collective collection of gasps and shocked, pitied, and utterly furious expressions crossed the collection of collective metahumans as Serphonus pulled a slime covered, horribly smelling, ghostly hand out of the monumental mountain of debris and garbage; clutched firmly in its grasp was a wooden statue of Chris' head with a rotting banana peel draped over his face.

_**Confessional**_

"Who says rabbit feet aren't lucky?" Serphonus grinned as he pulled out not one, but ten small rabbit feet attached to small, golden chains around his neck from within his shirt. "And the best part? I didn't pay a buck for 'em." he added, blowing across the top of his staff with a malicious grin.

_**End Confessional**_

"And with that, Serphonus can now pick one _lucky _contestant to help him crush the pathetic girl under his mighty fist!" Chris exclaimed happily before rock suddenly struck him in the jaw and sent him stumbling back in his chair; Chef took this moment to greedily wolf down the rest of the cheesy chips while Maurananei searched around for another rock to sling at Chris with Micheal's sock.

"Oh, dear, how to pick?" Serphonus tapped his chin in mock thought; the mundunugu grinned darkly and leveled his clawed staff at the crowd of eliminated contestants, slowly spinning it around in the air as the contestants all started to glow a frightening orange in color as most of them yelled and screamed with surprise and fought to try and get back down to the ground.

"Eeny, meeny, miny, moe, catch a voodoo lord by the toe," Serphonus recited in an almost childish manner as he moved the end of the staff from contestant to contestant in rhythm to his little rhyme. "If he screeches, let him go; eeny, meeny, miny moe. My master picks the very best one and you are . . . _it._"

"And things just got interesting!" Chris announced as all of the unselected ex-competitors were roughly dropped to the ground, the single remaining one being pulled out from the stands and dropped into the pit in front of Serphonus and Caroline; Chris snapped his fingers, and Chef Hatchet jumped over the side of the viewing platform, tackling the unlucky contestant to the dirt and roughly fitting a metal collar around his neck.

"You ready to fight, boy?" Serphonus grinned, kneeling down to cup Micheal's chin in his hand.

"_Drop. Dead._" Micheal snarled, spitting in the witch doctor's face.

"I don't like you tone." Serphonus seemed to pout, standing back up as Chef climbed off of Micheal and handed the mundunugu a remote control before quickly jogging back out of the arena; there was no way he was going to get into the resulting fight if he could help it.

"I'm not fighting for you." Micheal glowered.

"I'm afraid you don't have a choice in the matter." Serphonus acted disappointed before he clicked the bitton on the remote and watched with a cruel smile as the wielder of the Animatrix screamed in agony while his body lit up like a Christmas tree for a few, satisfying seconds before dying down. "Any time you disobey me, that little collar of yours will give you a quick reminder of who's in charge around here."

"Normally, I hate having someone stealing my lines. _This _time, I'll let it slide." Chris sighed happily, reclining back in chair before he received another rock to the face from Maurananei. "Let the games begin!" he groaned, rubbing the sore spot.

"With pleasure." Serphonus grinned darkly as he turned around and leveled his staff at Caroline as she struggled to get her makeshift armor on its proper place and fired off a concentrated beam of raw energy and dark magic that slammed the animal whisper square in the chest and blasted her back. "Now _change_." he demanded as he turned to Micheal, hovering a thumb over the button.

"Go jump off a- _AAAAAAAHHHHH!_"Micheal howled as he was shocked once more; with no other choice, he hesitantly reached for the Animatrix and activated it, slamming down on the activation button and swallowing himself in a flash of red light that warped and twisted his genetic code into something new. Micheal felt his body elongate and pinch into multiple spots, becoming segmented as he stretched out father and farther until he was a good thirty feet long; his arms bent in two more places as they hardened into insect-like legs before loudly splitting into four, extra pairs as random, curved spikes sprouted all along his back. His legs wrapped around each other and quickly fused into a tail that ended with a pincer-like growth while his face bulged outwards into a toothy beak with row after row after row of sharp fangs that ran all the way down his throat and to his corrosive stomach. A thick red, spiked collar materialized around his thick neck as his eyes divided into an extra pair and his armored skin turned a light orange with mottled, brown spots, completing the transformation.

Caroline groaned and sat up, rubbing her protected head before she caught sight of the massive Golpgusanus that had previously been her boyfriend towering over her, a low growl escaping its hooked beak while it gave her an apologetic look.

"Attack." Serphonus commanded.

The Golpgusanus gave off a horrible screech as it plunged its head downwards at Caroline, missing her as she instinctively rolled to the side and watched in fear as the gigantic, worm-like predator effortlessly burrowed into the earth's crust and disappeared from sight; she bit her lip nervously as she looked for any sign that would tell her where her adversary was while she attempted to feel any possible vibrations through her feet. The ground beneath her began to tremble and quake and she quickly jumped to the left just as the Golpgusanus exploded out of the earth and reared high into the air, opening its mouth and firing off globs of corrosive acid from its gullet. Caroline jogged furiously to dive behind one of the protect barriers that the arena offered as the blobs of acid followed her and pelted relentlessly against the wall, eating away at it while Caroline cowered on the ground in a tight ball.

"Not good enough," Serphonus frowned as he leveled the remote control at the gigantic predator and pressed the button. "_Change._"

The Golpgusanus screeched horrible as it was simultaneously electrocuted and encompassed in a flash of blood red light. His bones began to thicken, growing larger and larger as muscle and tissue packed and piled themselves heavily on his frame, so heavily in fact that it forced him to drop down on all fours just to support his hulking weight. His back bloated and expanded into a large hump of stiff and powerful muscle just behind the head as his fingers were slurped back up into his hand, leaving only his nails that hardened and enlarged into a thick, tough, hoof; his legs were short and stocky compared to the rest of his growing body as his skull bulged outwards into a rough box shape that pushed his nasal area out into a large bump. Upon this bump, Micheal could feel millions upon millions of tiny strands of small hairs called keratin weave and wind themselves together, packing tighter and tighter until they had formed a a large, curved horn on the front of his face and a smaller, knobbier horn just behind it as his face pushed into a squared form with thick lips and large, flaring nostrils. His ears rotated to either side of his head as his ears moved like liquid steel to the top of his head; it was almost ironic how as his eyesight worsened and worsened to the point where all he could see was blurry shapes, his sense of smell and hearing increased dramatically as a large, spiked collar wrapped around his thick neck, completing the transformation.

"I sure hope Caroline knows how to bull fight." Alan gulped.

"Technically, it is a _Ceratotherium simum, _a White Rhinoceros." Zelda corrected him as the large, bulky animal snorted and peered around the arena, as if searching for something.

"Your massive intellect never ceases to impress me." Alan complimented her, scooting a little closer to his girlfriend on the bench.

"That has to be the smartest thing you've ever said." Zelda smirked as she pulled a dagger out of her pocket and absentmindedly twirled around her fingers. "Is there something else you'd like to say, too?"

"Are you still mad about the whole 'getting Maurananei and Caroline to kiss' thing?" Alan guessed, oblivious to the way the ex-criminal was blushing slightly.

"Miffed is more like it." Zelda shrugged; the rhinoceros in the pit below snorted and set its sights on a barrier, lowering its head and pawing the ground angrily before charging forward like a run away trunk. Caroline had but seconds to dive out of the way as the rhino plowed clean through the wooden wall and reduced it to wooden splinters. Fortunately for her, rhinoceroses were not known for being agile, allowing Caroline to relentlessly dodge and avoid the heavy animal's charging with almost little effort, much to Serphonus' annoyance. "All I really want is an apology."

"Well, you could have just said that instead of chucking throwing knives at me every fifteen minutes." Alan grumbled.

"You have your ways of dealing with things, I have mine." Zelda replied. "Besides, I rewarded you with a nice time in the hot tub, didn't I?"

"If anything, it was _me _rewarding _you_," Alan smirked as the pink genius blushed slightly, earning knowing looks from Paul and Toni, Trey and Mortisha, and even Maurananei. "I'm sorry I wrote that dare." he apologized, wrapping an arm around Zelda's shoulders.

"That's all I wanted to hear." Zelda smiled, leaning close to him and giving him a quick peck on the lips before returning her attention to the fight down below; Alan meanwhile, fainted in his seat next to her.

"Micheal! Please, stop!" Caroline begged as she narrowly avoided getting skewered on the rhino's horn.

"Child, he couldn't stop if he wants to!" Serphonus scoffed with a dark grin on his lips as he absentmindedly leaned on his staff without care or worry. "Anytime he tries to refuse, alls I gotta do is push this button; the shock increases the quicker I press the button. The more he protests, the more I push, and the more I push, the closer he'll come to death with the voltage increased."

"Why are you doing this!?" Caroline begged to know as she rolled across the dirt and scrambled to her feet as Micheal came charging back at her and missed by a hair.

"Dear, child, I have debts to pay and places to be, and you are my ticket to freedom." Serphonus smirked. "Your soul, it's pure, girly. _Far _too pure to be wasted on living." he chuckled. "Oh, and by the way? Look out behind you."

Caroline had approximately two seconds to react before she was slammed into from behind by Micheal, the back of her shirt catching on the tip of her horn and trapping her there as the hulking animal continued to surge forward straight towards the rotting wall of the arena; Caroline braced herself for impact as the rhinoceros crashed right through the barrier and out into the woods, leaving a furious Serphonus in the dust behind.

"Why isn't this damn remote working!?" the witch doctor cursed as he furiously punched the button.

"Yeah, the range is a little short on it." Chris shrugged.

"But that means they're disqualified, right? They left the arena!" Serphonus exclaimed.

"_Technically, _Chris didn't say she couldn't." Zelda smirked with a devious smile.

"Thems the rules." Chris agreed.

Well . . . Micheal! He's cheating! He's disobeying an order!" Serphonus snarled.

"_Actually, _rhino's are not known for their eyesight. And considering how light Caroline is and how strong a White Rhinoceros is, he probably doesn't even register that she's there at all; he'll just keep on running until he gets tired or until he times out." Zelda explained.

"So _I _have to go after _him?_" Serphonus frowned.

"Yep!" Chris grinned.

"Memo to me, memo to me: maim you after my meeting." Serphonus growled, glancing at the satchel across his shoulder as he began to follow his minion's trail; thankfully, his bulky, rhinoceros form made it quite a simple task to do.

* * *

><p>Caroline groaned as she was roughly thrown to the floor, her shirt finally tearing and letting her drop to the ground as the White Rhinoceros skidded to a stop and snorted, tossing its head and flicking its ears to shoo away a buzzing fly while it cautiously approached the animal whisperer and offered her his horn to let her climb to her feet. "Thanks." she coughed. "B-But why did you bring me here?" she wondered, taking off her chestplate and helmet; the Animatrix timed out seconds later and returned Micheal to his human form.<p>

"You okay?" he asked, ignoring Caroline's question for the moment as he cracked his back.

"I-I'm f-f-fine." Caroline sniffed, glancing at the multiple scrapes, bruises, cuts, and splinters she had suffered while being used as a battering ram.

"Sorry about that. Rhino eyes are exactly the best in the world." Micheal apologized as he bent down to inspect the wounds. "I wouldn't worry about those, though. The Animatrix'll fix it up right quick."

Caroline blinked, simultaneously adjusting her eyes to the darkness while giving an appearance of confusion at her boyfriend's words. "Wh-What are you talking about?" she asked.

"This." Micheal replied as he pushed aside a heavy rock to reveal a foot deep hole underneath that he reached aside and fished around in before pulling something out; Caroline gasped as her eyes focused on an object that was shaped like a thick arm band made of black and gray rubber with a purple, toothed maw symbol at the center of a watch face in the middle of the band with four tubes snaking up to it. The animal whisperer trembled as Micheal approached her and held the faulty Animatrix out to her, as if he wanted her to take it.

"I understand that you're scared and believe me, I thought this was a bad idea, too." Micheal sighed, stooping down to talk to her better. "But if you ever want a chance of surviving this challenge, you're gonna need some serious fire power."

"B-But . . . don't you remember-"

"Remember how Kiko tricked Zelda into making this and trying to steal the million dollars while burning down half the island in the process?" Micheal finished. "I do. Which is why I asked Zelda to help me repair it and install all the proper safety measures to ensure it never happens again; this Animatrix can be synced with mine, allowing me to unlock any transformations that may be locked on yours, as well as lock you or anybody else out should something go wrong."

"B-But . . ."

"I know you're scared." Micheal sighed. "But this is your best chance. I know _you_ don't want to die, _I _don't want to die, _Maurananei _doesn't want you to die, _nobody _wants you to die. We all love and care for you greatly and we'd all miss you if you taken from us . . . especially by a **BEEP! **like Serphonus."

Caroline gulped and glanced nervously between the crude device in her boyfriend's hands and the warm look on his face that promised safety and security. "Y-You . . . you promise n-nothing will go wrong?"

"Promise." Micheal nodded. "And if something _does _go wrong, I'll fix it."

Caroline gulped and sucked in a deep breath, cautiously reaching out for the prototype Animatrix that waited for her; she gave off a startled scream when the device suddenly trembled and split vertically along the arm band and lunged at her like a hungry mouth, clamping tightly around her left wrist and hugging her wrist tightly. "AHH! Get it off me! Get off!" she screamed as she waved her arm around wildly.

"Calm down! Calm down!" Micheal soothed her. "Trust me, the Animatrix did that to me too my first try. All it's doing is reading over your DNA so it can lock in on it and only activate and listen to your touch; another fail safe."

"I-If you say so." Caroline sucked in a breath to calm her jittery nerves. The Animatrix beeped and buzzed softly, glowing a bright, friendly purple in color, as if it were gently beckoning her to touch it; Caroline obliged and pressed two of four, glowing purple buttons positioned in a ring around the watch face, watching as it pushed up out from the device like a piston and flashed a black silhouette of a familiar, four-armed being. After receiving an encouraging look from Micheal, Caroline pushed the activation button with a single finger and watched as a blast of purple light engulfed her. Her skinny figure suddenly swelled in size and bulk as hundreds of muscles piled themselves on top of each other, sending her growing form upwards until she was more than twice the size of Micheal, her slim shoulders still dwarfing his own; her fingers snapped and pulsed as thick veins popped out of her now purple skin, sending alien blood through her as her organs sloshed and oozed around inside of her, forming a second heart as another pair of eyes appeared above her own and turned a solid yellow in color. Caroline's mousy brown hair turned a deep, raven black in color as her arms and legs became lean and powerful, her stomach and chest muscles hardening like solid iron until a loud crunching sound ripped through the air and a second pair of just as muscled arms ripped out from under her original pair. The arms were nothing more than flesh and bone until tough, purple skin crawled over and covered it while her toes melted together into a pair of firm claws; black leotard with a purple stripe down the middle and a belt of the same color with the Animatrix at its center appeared on her, ending the transformation.

"_AAAAAAAA-AAAAAHHHH!_" the female Nisilaha screamed with fright, stumbling back as she flailed her four, muscled arms around in a panicked frenzy. "What just happened!? Why do I have four arms!? And why are you so small!?" Caroline panicked, grabbing Micheal by his shoulders with four of her arms and finding that she could now effortlessly lift him off of the ground as if he were a newborn baby.

"Caroline . . . can't breath!" Micheal choked; Caroline apologized and set Micheal back down on the ground, bending over so it would be easier to talk to him; it was almost amusing how a human boy was comforting a four-armed extraterrestrial that easily dwarfed him in size and strength. "Caroline, you're perfectly fine. You're just a Nisilaha now."

"I . . . I guess you're right," Caroline marveled as she clenched and unclenched her four hands in experimentation. "I-It . . . it doesn't hurt."

"Exactly." Micheal nodded. "Now all you need to know for the basics is that you have roughly a fifteen minute window before the Animatrix times out and that every time you initiate the Quick-Change feature by slapping the Animatrix while still transformed, the battery time gets shorter and shorter. You'll usually be able to transform again after a time out, but sometimes it gets stuck in Recharge Mode."

"How long does that last?" Caroline wondered.

"It varies." Micheal shrugged. "Now most form's abilities you'll be able to use instinctively, but some require a little more control and skill. You should be fine in this form, though." he added, raping a knuckle on her iron tough stomach and making the female Nisilaha giggle in response. "You gonna be okay?"

The Nisilaha nodded. "Th-Thank you. I-I don't know where I would be without you, Maurananei, or everyone else . . ."

Micheal waved it off. "Ah, don't worry about- _AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!_" the wielder of the Animatrix howled as he collapsed to the floor of the cave and convulsed violently as electricity coursed through his body; knowing that Serphonus was close, Micheal activated his own Animatrix and swallowed himself in a flash of blood red light that warped and changed his DNA into something new. His skeleton crunched and snapped loudly as his arms quickly lost muscle mass and were reduced to thin, limp noodles that slithered back up into his body as his shoulders squished together and melded with his thickening neck; his legs wrapped around each other and fused into a stiff, muscled tail so that Micheal's body was now essentially a tube. His jaws widened and lost all their teeth as they were slurped back into his skull with a loud cracking nose while his eyes rotated apart and became beady in appearance. A thin sheen of slime covered his skin as muscles packed themselves tightly around his skeleton, thin fins lining his tail and back as a set of gills opened up behind his neck and the spiked collar that formed there, completing the transformation.

Caroline was slightly stunned at the transformation but recognized the animal immediately from a trip to the aquarium she had taken with her girl scout troop; the marine museum had many exhibits housing hundreds upon thousands of species of fish and other aquatic life form the world's rivers and oceans, but perhaps the one she had spent the most time with was an electric eel in the Amazon tank, a large exhibit with a glass tunnel that allowed the visitors to walk through and underneath the water amongst the fish. She had ignored the odds stares other visitors had given her after her troop had moved on when she was caught talking to the electric eel, who was actually a good comedian in Caroline's book and loved to tell electricity jokes, the fish's somewhat goofy looking appearance forever burned into her mind.

Thus she was not alarmed when the electric eel at her feet sucked in a breath through its mouth and started to thrash and slither about on the floor as it generated thousands of volts of electricity through its specially evolved muscles, firing it off into the shock collar around its neck and shorting it out within moments; sensing what her boyfriend was getting at, Caroline stooped down and picked the slippery fish in two of her arms before grabbing the smoking remains of the shock collar in her other two hands and easily ripping it off. "You're a genius!" she smiled, kissing the eel on the forehead.

"Ah-HA! So this is where yer hiding!" Serphonus exclaimed as he came to a stop at the mouth of the cave and immediately took note of the ten-foot tall alien standing the darkness with a highly conductive fish in its hands. "What the-" he started until Caroline gave a sudden scream and chucked the electric eel at his head, smirking triumphantly when Micheal let lose a powerful shock that sent the witch doctor reeling. With Serphonus down, the Nisilaha charged forward and grabbed the electric eel by the tail as she fled back towards the Chris-iseum.

* * *

><p>"We're now forty minutes into the challenge, and our two contestants have yet to reappear once more," Chris narrated quietly. "Which raises a pertinent question . . . <em>WHAT IS TAKING SO LONG!?<em>" he roared loudly, shaking Alan out of his sleep; the rest of the contestants passed the time waiting to see the fate of their final two by either talking with one each other rather awkwardly, making out, playing rock-paper-scissors, playing with the playing cards Maurananei had smuggled in, or scratching out an image in the bleacher seats with one of Zelda's weapons.

"Contrary to their leg size, rhinos can run quite fast." Zelda replied without looking up. "Maybe Micheal ran far, far away or something."

"Whatever," Chris huffed. "If none of them are back within one minute, none of them get the million!"

"It's like dealing with a **BEEP! **man-child." Maurananei grumbled under her breath as she laid down her hand after drawing a hidden ace out from her sleeve and won the game she was playing between Tajira, Paul, Toni, and Eduardo (who didn't actually seem to be trying to play).

"At least we weren't playing strip poker." Paul sighed as Maurananei happily collected the limited winnings of a few dollars they had pitched in.

"Did someone say 'strip poker'?" Alan perked immediately before Zelda absentmindedly whipping out her collapsible bo staff and smacking him over the head without looking up from the carving of Spot she had been carving into the bleacher. "Thanks, babe. I needed that." he winced as he rubbed his skull.

"You're welcome."

"So when do you think they'll be back?" Monique wondered as she filed her nails absentmindedly.

"_AAAAAAAAAAAAA-AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!_"

"My guess is now!" Alex exclaimed, pointing upwards at a small, four-armed figure that was quickly growing larger and larger as it fell from the sky before crash landing into the ground below in an explosion of earth and dust; everyone but Eduardo climbed to their feet to see a female, purple-skinned Nisilaha come crawling out of the hole with Micheal in his human form on her shoulders, a somewhat pained look on his face.

"Might want to work on that landing." he told the four-armed alien.

"N-Noted." Caroline agreed.

"Okay, what the **BEEP! **is going on here!?" Paul exclaimed.

"Simple, really. I fully repaired the faulty Animatrix Kiko had me build and gave it to Caroline." Zelda explained with a shrug of her shoulders. "With Micheal's permission, of course."

"Good. Just wanted to be sure." Paul huffed.

"But wait," Toni tapped her chin in thought. "If they're here, where's Serphonus?"

"I'd like to know that, too. Because I, for one, am getting bored!" Chris whined.

The air suddenly got hot as a low buzzing noise filled the air, making everyone's hair standing on end as a crackling, purple, singularity of light appeared in the middle of the air in the center of the pit, growing bigger and bigger until it finally collapsed with a loud, thunderous _bang! _that blasted Caroline and Micheal back as Serphonus instantaneously appeared before their very eyes, his own eyes crackling with dark, purple energy as he levitated above the ground. "I am _done _with these tiresome games!" Serphonus hissed in a dark, echoing voice that didn't belong to him while he pulled a glowing, green dagger that looked like the feather of a crow from his satchel. "By the Dagger of Cuervo, it is time for you to _die!_" he roared, leveling his staff at Caroline before rushing at her from the air.

"_NO!_" Maurananei and Micheal yelled simultaneously as the former jumped out of the stands and into the pit while the later tapped his Animatrix and slammed a hand down on the core as he rushed at Serphonus, his DNA shifting and changing as he ran. His wrists bloated to the size of basketballs as his fingers cracked and hardened, turning into large, black claws as the blubber from his hands traveled up the length of his arms, expanding and growing and swelling to massive proportions on his shoulders; his belly suddenly exploded outwards and it would have been funny had the situation not been so dire. His legs crunched and cracked heavily as they became shorter than before while his toes become bony and sharp, now black claws to support his growing weight on as his skin began to solidify in certain areas, piling up into layers on his shoulders, back, thighs, and wrists; durable, red armor that could withstand the most corrosive of acids and lava now covered him protectively as his skin paled to a chrome white, the top half of him turning a pitch black. His neck ground and snapped loudly as his head was compressed into his shoulders, his mouth widening to fit the appropriately over his wide face as his eyes moved farther apart. The final part of the transformation was the addition of the Animatrix on his chest and the sudden flexibility of his spinal cord.

The Boulgira roared and curled up into a tight ball, its back, arm, shoulder, and leg plating fusing together to form a tough, durable, red ball of destruction that rolled quickly across the ground at Serphonus, quickly intercepting the witch doctor as he drove the Dagger of Cuervo downwards onto the spherical alien's shell; the dagger, as sharp as it was, only managed to poke a microscopic dot into the Boulgira's thick armor before Serphonus was slammed into from the side by Maurananei, the two of them tumbling and rolling across the ground before coming to a stop with Maurananei on top.

Before she could start to relentlessly punch him however, the unholy blade the mundunugu had wielded seconds before sparkled and cracked with electricity, levitating a few feet off of the ground as a dangerous amount of energy shot out and into it, the sky darkening as the winds howled and roared; thunder rolled heavily over head as a bolt of lightening snaked out from the dark clouds and struck the Dagger of Cuervo, the light building up within it rising to such a level that the weapon simply exploded into hundreds of tiny, metal shards.

"_NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!_" Serphonus wailed before Maurananei slugged him in the jaw; the moment the ex-criminal decked him across the face, it was like a switch had been flipped. One moment the cast had been watching in stunned silence, the next the vast majority of them were hopping and leaping and charging out of the bleachers to rush en mass and stampede towards Serphonus with multiple weapons of choice raised and ready to do damage; Zelda emptied an entire armory's worth of weapons out to everyone, giving Paul a pair of hunting knives, Alan her collapsible bo staff and a some shurkiens, Alex a katana blade, Reese a pair of sai, and arming herself with a pair of nunchucks; Anuok pulled out her own pair of daggers as Toni morphed into a sleek Bengal Tiger, Trey wielded his guitar like a club as Mortisha's nails suddenly grew to a long and wicked size that drew odd looks from everyone else for mere seconds before they all descended onto Serphonus with Micheal and Caroline following suit.

Caroline gave a loud war cry as she tore Serphonus out from under Maurananei and tossed him sky high into the air, slamming a hand down on the Animatrix on her waist and swallowing herself in a flash of purple light, now a gigantic, heavy plated _Ankylosaurus _that turned around and swung her clubbed tail, smashing it into the witch doctor and sending him flying low across the ground; Micheal grunted as he uncurled himself and slammed his belly into him, bouncing him back as Maurananei stooped down and launched Anuok into the air, allowing her to plunge her daggers deep into Serphonus' thighs and dragging them down to his ankles. Toni let out a earth-shattering roar and pounced on the helpless witch doctor in mid air, tackling him to the ground where Alan then proceeded to whack him over the head with his bo staff as Paul stabbed hi knuves deep into Serphonus' shoulders.

"This is payback for everything you've ever done to us all!" Tajira growled, socking her fist into her open hand.

Serphonus promptly spat in her face, wincing slightly at the blood that dripped from his wounds as the entire available cast crowded around him in tight circle, ready to beat the ever living tar out of him; the witch doctor actually felt weakened and afraid, especially when he saw Reese of all people pick up his discarded staff and break it over his knee out of anger. The mundunugu sucked in a deep breath and prepared for the pain that would undoubtedly followed when he noticed something particular about the clouds overhead, taking note how they started to turn a sickly green in color, swirling and spinning like a hurricane overhead with a large, purple eye at the center.

"Friends!" Serphonus smirked with relief when the clouds parted to reveal a massive, demonic skull with fiery eyes, jagged teeth, and a pair of sharp horns surrounded by a large council and collection of human and animal skulls; his relieved expression however turned into one of concern when the skulls started to whisper amongst themselves, glancing at him every now and then and briefly regarding the ring of metahumans that surrounded him with slight interest before returning back to their conversation.

'I'm not sure I like where this is going." Paul frowned as he watched the demonic skulls overhead.

"That makes two of us." Micheal rumbled.

The _Ankylosaurus _bellowed in agreement as both her own and Micheal's Animatrixes timed out in blasts of purple and red light.

"Four." Maurananei glared, balling her hands into fists as if she were ready to actually fight the demonic creatures looking down upon them from overhead.

"I think it's safe to say that we all don't like it one bit." Tajira snarled.

"On the bright side, though, I don't think they're happy with ol' Serphonus!" Mortisha grinned wildly as the head skull unhinged its jaws and opened them wide; Serphonus immediately began to scream in fear and agony as dozens of pitch, black figures oozed and slithered across the ground and wrapped themselves around his arms and legs, painfully tearing out Paul's daggers as they suddenly leaped into the sky, dragging the screaming witch doctor with him.

"No! No! Not now! Now isn't a good time!" Serphonus howled. "Please! No! I have more plans to repay, you promise! I just need more time!" he pleaded before turning to the eliminated contestants. "Please, ya gotta help me! I didn't mean for any of this to happen! It was all a joke! Ya gotta help me!"

Micheal marched to the front of the group with Maurananei and Caroline following after, stern looks on the former two's faces. "I don't know, guys. Should we help him?"

"I dunno." Maurananei shrugged. "I seem to remember him trying to kill us all on multiple occasions."

"Caroline?" the two of them prompted the animal whisperer; gulping nervously, Caroline looked between the pleading, begging expression on Serphonus' face as he dug his hands into the dirt, struggling to gain any ground against the demons that held him captive, and the cold, angered expressions of her friends and now family. This vile creature, this horrendous excuse for a human being had heartlessly tried to not only kill her to pay for his sins and debts, but also the people she had grown close to over the past few weeks, the people she had grown to call a family when her own family hardly bothered to deal with her. Oddly enough, Caroline felt no sympathy or remorse for him.

"Go rot in **BEEP!**" she gulped before sucking in a brave breath and raising up her foot to stomp down on Serphonus' fingers; the witch doctor howled in brief pain before the voodoo demons pulled him into the air, slithering and sliding back into the head skull's cavernous mouth and dragging Serphonus with them as his screams were cut off by the sharp clack of the skull's teeth clanging shut.

"_Today . . . a debt has been repaid,_" the skull hissed. "_And today . . . a pure soul has been stained._"

With that being said, the skulls were enveloped by the thundering clouds overhead as lightening tore the sky in two before vanishing in a earth-rattling bang that seemed to vibrate the very air; utter silence followed as everybody simply stared at the spot where Serphonus had once been and had been taken from their world. Not that anybody cared right now.

"So . . . you being the only one left and all . . . that makes you the winner, right?" Maurananei broke the silence.

* * *

><p>As far as finale's went, this one was by far the strangest and most climactic Chris had seen in a long while. Sure, season five had ended up with the island sinking to the bottom of the lake, season four had resulted in his beautiful, radioactive island being taken away from him and having himself shoved into jail, and season three had even involved a live, active volcano, but having one of the contestants seemingly killed and abducted voodoo lords after getting the ever living tar beaten out of him was definitely a first.<p>

"And so," he cleared his throat. "It was with great reluctance, pleasure, and fear that I declare Caroline the winner of Total Drama: Pahkitew's Vengeance!" Chris announced proudly, trying not to appear afraid as Maurananei, Toni, Zelda, Alan, Paul, and quite literally every other contestant but Micheal threatened him from behind his back as he presented Caroline with the open, metal suitcase containing one million dollars.

"I-I . . . I feel faint . . ." Caroline rubbed her temples as Micheal helped steady her.

"Easy there. After what we've been through, we all need a good break." he said with a smile. "Looks like you'll end up becoming a hero after all."

"Yes, yes, she won. Great. Now take the million dollars and go already." Chris huffed, closing the case and handing it to Caroline, who promptly dropped it on Chris' foot under the sheer weight of the case and money; while the host held his throbbing toes, Micheal took the case for her.

"So what are you gonna do with the money?" Reese asked.

"Massive mansion?" Monique guessed.

"Yachts?" Alan suggested.

"Animal conservation?" Toni tried.

"Donating it to the scientific community?" Zelda wondered.

"Burn it knowing that it's meaningless?" Eduardo droned.

"Hoard it all and gather more and more money until you're the richest person in the world!?" Mortisha cackled madly.

"I think _someone _had too much swamp coffee this morning." Trey smirked.

"Aw, you know me so well, Barney!" Mortisha gushed, hugging her boyfriend tightly.

"It's all up to you, Cupcake." Maurananei folded her arms over her chest before relenting against Larry's pitiful whimpering and scratching her pet happily underneath his chin. "You're money, you're choice. Either way, after we get off this dump, you, me, and your boyfriend are going to have a _little chat _with your parents, Cupcake. And maybe your girl scout troop while we're at it."

Caroline blushed lightly. "I . . . I'm not sure what to do with the money. I n-never thought I would get this th-this far."

"Well, how about we focus on other things for now," Micheal suggested. "Wielding the ultimate weapon on your wrist, your responsibilities to the world, sitting back and relaxing and forgetting about all that-"

"Getting off my island while the goings good." Chris interrupted. "Now go!" he jerked a thumb towards the docks; Toni sighed and dived into the water, focusing on an image in her head as the changes began. Her body began to expand, making her into a fifty foot giant human that all but dwarfed everyone on the dock as her back rose up out of the water and threatened to dose them all in a sizable wave; her face pushed outwards into a long, triangular snout as her mouth broadened and widened and her eyes moved down and to opposite sides of heads until they seemed to be in separate zip codes. Toni's ears and every strand of hair on her head vanished as her fingers melted together into long, bumpy paddes longer than her original form was tall while her legs wounded themselves around each other and her feet flattened, turning into giant, triangular flukes. Layers of fat and blubber piled up underneath of her wrinkling skin and muscles, her nose vanishing entirely as two openings opened up in the back of her neck and sucked in a breath of wet air while a small dorsal fin (at least, compared to her) formed on her back. Toni's teeth disappeared and were replaced by thick, brush-like baleen as her tongue filled his mouth and her vocal cords became nonexistent, completing the transformation.

"All aboard who's going aboard!" Reese announced as the majority of the cast and Larry climbed onto Toni's back.

"H-Hey, Micheal?" Caroline spoke up before both she and Micheal could climb onto the whale's back.

"Yes?" Micheal asked.

"Thanks. For everything." Caroline smiled, standing up on her tip toes to kiss Micheal full on the lips with a fierce blush to her face; with that being said, they climbed on after their friends and hung on as Toni pumped her tail and swam out onto the lake, leaving Pahkitew Island behind.

"Hey, Mitchell? Paul?" Maurananei asked after they were a good distance away.

"Yeah?" she now had both of their attentions.

"Did you do what I asked?"

"Yep. Managed to sneak away before everything turned sour." Mitchell grinned.

"There something I'm missing here?" Micheal wondered.

Maurananei didn't reply at first and merely held up a hand that quickly counted from five fingers to four. Three. Two. One.

_**BOOM!**_

Everyone turned around to watch as Pahkitew Island, true to its translation, promptly exploded in a massive, fiery mushroom cloud visible for miles on end, sending bits of metal paneling and wood splinters high into the sky; out of the many pieces of debris and junk that were raining down on the lake like hail in an ice storm, Chris and Chef screamed as they plummeted from the sky, flailing their arms and legs as they fell faster and faster until they miraculously landed (painfully) on Toni's back with a loud, sickening _smack! _that drew an uncomfortable grunt from the humpbacked whale.

"And with that, I'm Chris McLain!" the host declared deliriously. "Thanks for tuning into Total! Drama! Pahkitew's Vengeance!"

"I know I got my vengeance." Maurananei smirked.

**And there we go!**

**Wow. I can't believe it. Th-This . . . this is almost unheard of! A _complete _SYOC story on this site! Stop the madness! Stop the presses! Stop time itself, it actually happened!**

**Regardless, I'm glad that I managed to complete this series and I hope that I can do the same for my next. That's right, I made a sequel to this! And this time, I'm not doing it alone: I'm doing it with the lovely _Jeptwin! _So stick around, while I recover, recuperate, and edit, for the first chapter of my next Total Drama story: Total Drama: Take 2!**

**As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!**

**Hasta Luego!**


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